SBA SOP 50 10 8.1, B.Ch1.C.2 — Underwriting Standard 7(a) Loans:

sba-sop81-b-ch1-c-2

Verbatim text of SBA SOP 50 10 8.1 (with Technical Policy Updates) section B.Ch1.C.2 (Underwriting Standard 7(a) Loans:). Effective 2026-10-01 for applications received by SBA on or after that date; SOP 50 10 8 governs applications submitted through 2026-09-30. 1 provision(s) quoted from SBA's .docx.

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See also

SBA lending corpus: SOP 50 10 and the active notices, with the expiry watcher.

Verbatim regulatory text (1)

Verbatim provisions from SBA SOP 50 10 8.1, B.Ch1.C.2 — Underwriting Standard 7(a) Loans: — each quote is a verified substring of the regulator-published source snapshot, not retyped. Quoted for reference; this is not legal advice. The operational layer (P&P updates, prompts) lives in the regulation update kits.

SOP 50 10 8.1 B.Ch1.C.2

Effective 2026-10-01 · publisher's stamp for this provision

12 sections · 10,690 characters of verbatim text. Open a section to read it, or . Every section below is in the page source whether open or closed.

§2. Underwriting Standard 7(a) Loans266 ch
2. Underwriting Standard 7(a) Loans: a. Lender’s Credit Analysis: The Lender’s credit memorandum and analysis must address the Applicant’s ability and likelihood to repay the loan from the cash flow of the business and past performance by documenting the following:
iA description and history of the business, including801 ch
i. A description and history of the business, including: a) Nature of the business; b) Length of time in business under current management; c) Depth of management experience in the industry or a related industry; d) Brief description of the business’s management team including principal’s involvement in the daily onsite management of the business or how the daily operations will be managed if the principals are not there on a daily basis. e) If the daily operations will be handled under a management agreement, Lenders must obtain a copy of the management agreement (unless the management agreement is part of the franchise disclosure documents for a brand listed on the Franchise Directory), review it to determine if it results in an ineligible passive business, and retain in their loan file.
iiFinancial analysis of repayment ability2,097 ch
ii. Financial analysis of repayment ability: a) For existing businesses based on the three most recent years of historical financial information (tax returns or balance sheet with debt schedule and income statement) plus an interim financial statement. (13 CFR § 120.191) b) For start-ups, new businesses, and other applications based on projections, include detailed projections, including the supporting assumptions that reflect a debt service coverage equal to or greater than 1.15 within 2 years from loan funding or, for construction projects, within 2 years from the end of construction. c) Review and analyze the Applicant(s)’ owner(s), and Guarantor(s) personal credit reports and discuss any credit issues. i) For loans processed under non-delegated authority, Lenders must include a copy of the credit report, dated within 90 days, with the documents submitted in the SBA Loan System. d) The financial analysis for all Applicants must address the following as applicable: i) Historical cash flow for existing businesses, that demonstrates total debt service coverage after the SBA loan; if the historical cash flow from the most recent full year and the interim financial statements do not show sufficient debt service coverage, Lender must obtain from the Applicant and analyze 2 years of detailed projections including the supporting assumptions justifying relying on projections instead of historical performance; ii) Calculation of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA); iii) Justification for additions and subtractions to cash flow such as the following: (a) Unfunded capital expenditures; (b) Non-recurring income; (c) Expenses and distributions; (d) Distributions for S-Corp taxes; (e) Rent payments; (f) Owner’s Draw; and/or (g) Global cash flow analysis that includes assessment of impact on cash flow to/from any affiliate business. Anticipated cash flow from rental income from the Project Property may be included in the global cash flow analysis; iv) The effect any affiliates may have on the ultimate repayment ability of the Applicant.
iiiDebt Service (DS) is defined as the future required principal and…489 ch
iii. Debt Service (DS) is defined as the future required principal and interest payments on all business debt inclusive of new SBA loan proceeds. The Applicant’s debt service coverage ratio (DSC) must be equal to or greater than 1.15 on a historical and/or projected cash flow basis and 1:1 on a global basis. To perform a complete analysis of debt service coverage, it is important for a Lender to obtain a current debt schedule prepared by the Applicant, including any shareholder debt.
ivFor cash flow projections, the Lender must calculate the debt…477 ch
iv. For cash flow projections, the Lender must calculate the debt service coverage (which may not include anticipated cash flow from rental income from the Project Property) and provide the assumptions supporting the projected cash flow coverage, including as applicable: a) Justification for revenue growth, i.e., new product lines, sales channels, and new production facilities; b) Justification for any reduction in expenses; and c) A comparison to current industry trends.
vSpread of pro-forma Business Balance Sheet (current business…227 ch
v. Spread of pro-forma Business Balance Sheet (current business balance sheet adjusted for all changes in assets and liabilities as a result of the SBA loan, other debt, any required equity injection and use of loan proceeds);
viRatio calculations (based on the pro-forma Balance Sheet and…441 ch
vi. Ratio calculations (based on the pro-forma Balance Sheet and historical and projected Income Statements) for the following financial ratio benchmarks: Current Ratio, Debt/Tangible Net Worth, Debt Service Coverage, and any other ratios the Lender considers significant for the business/ industry (e.g., inventory turnover, receivables turnover, and payables turnover, etc.) including discussion of Lender’s comparison to industry trends;
viiAnalysis of working capital adequacy, at a minimum over the next 12 months;81 ch
vii. Analysis of working capital adequacy, at a minimum over the next 12 months;
viiiAssessment of collateral adequacy adjusted in accordance with…107 ch
viii. Assessment of collateral adequacy adjusted in accordance with Appendix 19 to offset risk of default;
ixInsurance Requirements, including187 ch
ix. Insurance Requirements, including: a) Life Insurance – on whom and how much. If life insurance will not be required, provide justification. b) Business hazard & liability insurances.
xExplanation of and justification for the refinancing of any debts…319 ch
x. Explanation of and justification for the refinancing of any debts as part of the loan request, along with supporting documentation, in accordance with the debt refinancing requirements in Appendix 14: 7(a) Debt Refinancing Requirements, including a written explanation for any late payments over the past 12 months.
xiLender’s rationale for recommending approval, including a…5,198 ch
xi. Lender’s rationale for recommending approval, including a…1,370 ch
xi. Lender’s rationale for recommending approval, including a discussion and analysis of the following: a) The factors demonstrating the Applicant does not have credit available elsewhere on reasonable commercial terms from non-Federal, non-State, non-local government sources in accordance with Section A, Ch. 1. Para. H. b) When 50 percent or more of the loan proceeds will be used for working capital, Lender must explain in its credit memorandum why this level of working capital is necessary and appropriate for the subject business; c) Competition; d) Seller financing; e) Stand-by agreements; f) 90+ day delinquencies; g) Trade disputes and/or; h) Federal, State, or local citations which would preclude the Applicant from normal business operations; i) For a change of ownership, discussion/analysis of the business valuation used to support the purchase price (see Appendix 15 Para. C.1.a, Business Valuation Requirements - change of ownership); j) Discussion of any liens, judgments, bankruptcy filings or pending litigation including divorce proceedings; k) If the application involves a franchise (as defined by FTC), the Lender must review any credit information provided, such as the number of failed franchisees and cash flow projections provided by the franchisor). l) Discussion of other relevant information. b. Equity requirements (13 CFR § 120.150):
iDepending on whether the loan is processed on a non-delegated or…734 ch
i. Depending on whether the loan is processed on a non-delegated or PLP basis, the Lender or SBA must determine that there is sufficient invested equity. To do this, the Lender (for PLP loans) or SBA (for non-delegated loans) must determine if the equity position, any required equity contribution, and the pro forma debt-to-worth are acceptable based on the factors related to the type of business, experience of management, and the level of competition in the market area. The Lender must include in its credit memorandum a detailed discussion of the equity position (net worth) and any required equity injection. See Ch. 6, Para. D.3., Closing Documentation, for requirements concerning documenting and verifying equity injection.
iiMinimum equity injection requirements for Start-Up Businesses…785 ch
ii. Minimum equity injection requirements for Start-Up Businesses: SBA considers a business to be a “start-up” for the purpose of determining equity injection requirements if it has been in operation (i.e., generating revenue from intended operations) for 1 year or less. SBA considers an equity injection (Applicant contribution) of at least 10 percent of the total project costs (all costs required to become operational, regardless of the source of funds, except for lines of credit and 504 loans) to be necessary for a Start-Up Business to operate on a sound financial basis. All 7(a) loans made to a Start-Up Business require a 10% equity injection based on the project cost; however, loans approved more than 90 days apart from each other are considered to be separate projects.
iiiChanges of ownership: See Appendix 15: 7(a) Changes of Ownership…124 ch
iii. Changes of ownership: See Appendix 15: 7(a) Changes of Ownership for specific change of ownership equity requirements.
ivSource of Equity Injection: The following may be considered equity injection2,185 ch
iv. Source of Equity Injection: The following may be considered equity injection. a) Standby Agreements - only debt that is on full standby (no payments of principal or interest for the term of the 7(a) loan) may be considered as equity for SBA’s purposes. Lender must use SBA Form 155 or its own equivalent Standby Agreement form, and a copy of the note must be attached to the standby agreement. The standby debt may accrue interest and may be added to the standby debt and amortized after the 7(a) loan is paid in full. Standby Creditor must subordinate any lien rights in collateral securing the loan to Lender’s rights in the collateral and take no action against Borrower or any collateral securing the Standby Debt without Lender’s consent. b) Cash that is not borrowed, whether on the business’s balance sheet or from other sources (e.g. gift). c) Cash that comes from a personal loan where repayment can be demonstrated to come from a source other than the cash flow of the business (the salary paid to the owner by the business does not qualify). d) Grants that do not have repayment or clawback provisions during the life of the 7(a) loan. e) Assets other than cash – An appraisal or other valuation by an independent third party is required if the valuation of the fixed assets is greater than the Net Book Value. A valuation of the fixed assets provided as part of a business valuation will not meet these requirements. f) Eligible prepaid expenses that the Lender has verified by obtaining paid invoices, canceled checks, or bank statements. Lender must retain copies of the documentation in the loan file. i) Expenses related to education, advisory services, or fees paid by the Applicant to an Agent are not eligible prepaid expenses and are not considered equity. g) An equity investment not subject to an agreement to repay equity or make distributions to recover an investor’s investment prior to release of the guaranty. Note: SBA considers any investment subject to an agreement to repay equity or make distributions to recover an investor’s investment prior to release of the guaranty (e.g., certain types of redeemable preferred stock) to be debt and not equity.

Source: SBA SOP 50 10 8.1, B.Ch1.C.2 — Underwriting Standard 7(a) Loans: · source URL · snapshot 0fb0c4692cf52938

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Source of record: https://claudeforcompliance.com/regs/sba-sop81-b-ch1-c-2/ · register sba-sop81-b-ch1-c-2 · verbatim, source-snapshotted regulator text from the Claude for Compliance corpus. To work from every register at once, download the corpus and follow the methodology.