SBA 7(a): Lender Flexibility on Guarantor Net Worth?
Has anyone run into SBA lenders requiring guarantor net worth to be at least ~20% of the total loan amount as an internal “Net Risk to Bank” policy?
I’m looking at a ~$1.5M SBA acquisition, and one lender indicated that once their exposure exceeds $150K, they want guarantor net worth equal to at least 20% of the loan. The business itself appears to support the debt, so this seems more like a bank-specific de-risking policy than an SBA requirement.
Curious whether this is common across SBA lenders, or if other banks have more flexibility for an operator with a strong operating background but limited personal net worth. Also interested in whether anyone has solved this through an additional guarantor rather than changing the deal structure.
If any SBA lenders here have more flexibility around this type of guarantor requirement and are active in ~$1.5M–$2M business acquisitions, I’d be happy to connect directly as well.