How to Keep the SBA Loan Guarantee

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Financial institutions that participate in Small Business Administration (SBA) lending know that the program provides added opportunities to expand their lending activity, generate additional revenue and potentially meet their Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) objectives. It’s exciting when an SBA loan gets to the finish line, closes and funds.

The SBA’s guarantee covering 75% or more of the loan is a big benefit to banks; it significantly reduces the risk and the guaranteed portion doesn’t count against the bank’s legal lending limit. Banks that sell the guaranteed portion of the loan into the secondary market can book the gain on sale as additional income immediately.

But it’s important for bankers to keep in mind that just because the loan secured an SBA guarantee at the time of origination doesn’t mean that it will be there if you need it — that is, if the borrower defaults on the loan for any unfortunate reason. If your institution requests the SBA to honor the guarantee, SBA will review the loan file to make sure the bank properly closed, documented, funded and serviced the loan according to the bank’s approved credit memo and the SBA Loan Authorization. They will review it with a higher level of scrutiny when it is considered an early default, or a loan that defaults within the first 18 months. If the loan file is not documented properly or the bank failed to meet any of the requirements, SBA will issues a repair — or worse, a full denial of the guarantee. For that reason, it is important that your bank has proper procedures in place which include a pre- and post-closing review process to ensure lenders don’t miss or overlook items.

As a lender service provider that provides loan file review services for SBA lenders nationwide, I can tell you that lenders are often surprised about the types of documentation deficiencies that we uncover during a review. The deficiencies typically come from a lack of proper procedures and checklists, lack of training, misinterpretation of the program rules and requirements, or just lacking the appropriate staff to properly conduct pre- and post-closing reviews and monitor important post-close items.

The top five material deficiencies leading to a repair or denial of SBA guarantees are:

  • Lien and collateral deficiencies.
  • Ineligible or unauthorized use of proceeds.
  • Debt refinance eligibility or documentation deficiencies related to debt refinance.
  • Not properly documenting the equity injection or source of equity funds.
  • Not properly documenting disbursement of loan proceeds.

The SBA will also review the loan file for any post-close servicing actions that may have occurred during the life of the loan. These include loan payment deferments, changes to the maturity date, assumption requests, release or exchange of collateral, changes to the ownership structure or release of a guarantor. The SBA expects your institution follow prudent lending standards and SBA program requirements when negotiating a feasible workout structure, considering an offer in compromise or liquidating an SBA loan.

It is imperative for institutions to properly document all service actions, conduct site visits as required and submit a written liquidation plan when appropriate. This is where lenders often seem to fall short and are taken off guard when the SBA comes back with a repair or denial of the SBA guarantee because of such documentation deficiencies.

The key takeaway is that it’s always important, but especially more so now in this economic environment, to properly monitor your institution’s existing SBA portfolio. Make sure your bank has properly trained staff, well thought-out procedures and checklists for all functions and proper staffing in each area. Engaging a third party that has a high level of SBA experience to occasionally review your bank’s files and provide feedback on how well processes are working is a good practice. A highly skilled SBA reviewer can help banks identify potential deficiencies and provide recommendations for best practices that will help them keep those loan guarantees.

How Banks Can Win the Small Business Customer Experience

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In the first stages of the pandemic, it became apparent that many banks were unable to effectively meet the needs of their small business customers in terms of convenience, response time, fast access to capital and overall customer experience. Innovative financial technology companies, on the other hand, recognized this market opportunity and capitalized on it.

Bankers recognize the importance of providing their business banking customers with the same fast and frictionless digital experience that their consumer retail banking customers enjoy. So, how can banks ensure that they are competitive and continue to be relevant partners for their small business customers?

The reality of applying for most business loans below $250,000 is a difficult experience for the applicant and a marginally profitable credit for the bank. Yet, the demand for such lending exists: the majority of Small Business Administration pandemic relief loans were less than $50,000.

The key to making a smooth, fast and convenient application for the borrower and a profitable credit for the lender lies in addressing the issues that hinder the process: a lack of automation in data gathering and validation, a lack of automated implementation of underwriting rules and lack of standardized workflows tailored to the size and risk of the loan. Improving this means small business applicants experience a faster and smoother process — even if their application is declined. But a quick answer is preferable to days or weeks of document gathering and waiting, especially if the ultimate response is that the applicant doesn’t qualify.

But many banks have hesitated to originate business loans below $100,000, despite the market need for such products. Small business loans, as a category, are often viewed as high risk, due to business owners’ credit scores, low revenues or lack of collateral, which keeps potential borrowers from meeting banks’ qualifications for funding.

Innovative fintechs gained the inside track on small business lending by finding ways to cost-effectively evaluate applicants on the front-end by leveraging automated access to real-time credit and firmographic and alternative data to understand the business’ financial health and its ability to support the repayment requirements of the loan. Here, much of the value comes from the operational savings derived from screening out unqualified applicants, rerouting resources to process those loan applications and reducing underwriting costs by automating tasks that can be performed by systems rather than people.

To make the economics of scale for small dollar business lending work, fintechs have automated data and document gathering tasks, as well as the application of underwriting rules, so their loan officers only need to do a limited number of validation checks. Adopting a similar approach allows banks to better position themselves to more cost effectively and profitably serve the borrowing needs of small business customers.

Although some fintechs have the technology in place to provide a faster, more seamless borrowing experience, many lack the meaningful, personal relationship with business owners that banks possess. They typically must start from scratch when onboarding a new loan customer, as opposed to banks that already own the valuable customer relationship and the existing customer data. This gives banks an edge in customizing offers based on their existing knowledge of the business client.

While consumer spending remains strong, persisting inflationary pressures and the specter of a recession continue to impact small businesses’ bottom lines. Small business owners need financial partners that understand their business and are nimble enough to help them react to changing market dynamics in real time; many would prefer to manage these challenges with the assistance of their personal banker.

The challenge for bankers is crafting and executing their small business lending strategy: whether to develop better business banking technology and capabilities in-house, buy and interface with a third-party platform or partner with an existing fintech.

Better serving business customers by integrating a digital, seamless experience to compliment the personal touch of traditional banking positions financial institutions to compete with anyone in the small business lending marketplace. With the right strategy in place, banks can begin to win the small business customer experience battle and more profitably grow their small business lending portfolios.

3 Reasons to Add SBA Lending

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There were nearly 32 million small businesses in the United States at the end of the third quarter in 2020, according to the Small Business Administration.

That means 99% of all businesses in this country are small businesses, which is defined by the agency as 500 employees or fewer. They employ nearly 50% of all private sector employees and account for 65% of net new jobs between 2000 and 2019.

Many of the nation’s newest businesses are concentrated in industries like food and restaurant, retail, business services, healthy, beauty and fitness, and resident and commercial services. This is a potentially huge opportunity for your bank, if it’s ready and equipped for when these entrepreneurs come to you for financing. But if your bank is not prepared, it may be leaving serious money on the table that could otherwise provide a steady stream of valuable loan income.

That’s because these are the ideal customers for a SBA loan. If that’s not something your bank offers yet, here are three reasons to consider adding SBA lending to the loan portfolio this year.

1. New Avenue for Long-Term Customers
Small business customers often provide the longest-term value to their banks, both in terms of fee income generated and in dollars deposited. But not having the right loan solution to help new businesses launch or scale means missing out on a significant and lucrative wave of entrepreneurial activity. That’s where SBA lending comes in.

SBA loans provide the right solution to small businesses, at the right time. It’s an ideal conversation starter and tool for your bank team to turn to again and again and a way to kick off relationships with businesses that, in the long run, could bring your bank big returns. It’s also a great option to provide to current small business customers who may only have a deposit relationship.

2. Fee Income With Little Hassle
In addition to deeper relationships with your customers, SBA lending is an avenue to grow fee income through the opportunity for businesses to refinance their existing SBA loans with your bank. It broadens your portfolio with very little hassle.

And when banks choose to outsource their SBA lending, they not only get the benefit of fee income, but incur no overhead, start up or staffing costs. The SBA lender service provider acts as the go-between for the bank and the SBA, and they handle closing and servicing.

3. Add Value, Subtract Risk
SBA loans can add value to any bank, both in income and in relationship building. In addition, the SBA guarantees 75% to 85% of each loan, which can then be sold on the secondary market for additional revenue.

As with any product addition, your bank is probably conscientious of the risks. But when you offer the option to refinance SBA loans, your bank quickly reduces exposure to any one borrower. With the government’s guarantee of a significant portion, banks have lots to gain but little to lose.