SBA Today

Fresh off the NAGGL annual conference, Paul and Tonya break down: 🏛️ The Congressional Committee Reset —how will this steer the SBA's core mission over the next two years?  💻  The iCAP & 1502 Deadline —are your servicing and tech stack actually ready for the cutover?  📊 The $134 Billion Portfolio Reality —early defaults, deferrals, and rising M&A transactions.  🤖  AI-Driven Audits & Oversight —...

This week on SBA Today, Paul and Tonya unpack: 🏆 The $1M Pitch Finale : Maine manufacturer Compotech lands the $400K grand prize in a live finale judged by Nicki Minaj, Dean Cain, and Grant Cardone. 🤖 The SBA Tech Roadmap : How upfront fraud filters, automated calculations, and ICAP will reshape originations ahead of the Q2 2027 deadline. 📑 New Change of Ownership Matrix : Where equity injectio...

In this episode of SBA Today, Paul Long and Tonya Mazurek are joined by David Parrish —former Senior Examiner at the SBA Office of Credit Risk Management (OCRM)— to give into a bombshell SBA Office of Inspector General (OIG) report exposing massive default concentration within Small Business Lending Companies (SBLCs).  Plus, Paul and Tonya unpack the long-awaited SBA Technical Corrections, analyze...

This week on SBA Today, Paul and Tonya are breaking down: 📈How is this week's rate hike impacting your borrowers' debt service coverage and pending approvals?  🚫With $39B in suspected pandemic fraud flagged, what will this mean for your CAIVRS pulls and existing portfolio reviews? ⚡Could the expanded International Trade Loan program open new doors for energy and supply-chain borrowers in your p...

Is the SBA going to war? In this episode of SBA Today, Paul Long and Tonya Mazurek break down: 🛡️ SBA Goes to War: SBA and Department of War launch Smaller War Plants Commission with up to 90% guarantees for defense suppliers 🏛️ Bancorp Exits SBA Originations: Major national lender phasing out new 7(a) and 504 originations by year-end 🏢 25-Year CRE Refi Rescued: SBA technical update to clarify hi...

The new SBA SOP just dropped — and it changes everything for acquisitions. In this episode of SBA Today, Paul Long and Tonya Mazurek dive deep into the 400+ page update to unpack the critical changes going into effect on October 1st. 00:45 – Meet ICAP: The Next-Gen E-Tran & Secondary Market System   02:00 – New SOP Overview: 416 Pages & October 1st Effective Date 04:20 – Eligible Expenses, Franchi...

This week on SBA Today, Paul and Tonya are pulling apart a few lines buried inside Washington legislation that could have a very real impact on SBA lending. 🏛️ The Senate CR — The Senate passed a Continuing Resolution Saturday morning. But there are a few words tucked inside it that caught our attention. 🚦 An "Apportionment Anomaly" — Sounds riveting, right? 😂 Turns out, if you're an SBA lender,...

Paul and Tonya are back on SBA Today to break down: 📉 The Default Surge: Small loan default ratios have skyrocketed, sparking massive friction over relaxed underwriting rules.  💻 Workflow Disruption: Will this fix the guardrails or completely choke up deal turn times? 🏛️ Green Card Lending Battle: Could we see an immediate reversal on borrower eligibility? 📋 The Next-Gen SOP: With acquisitions...

This week on SBA Today, Paul and Tonya unpack: 🔍 OIG Foreclosure Audit—how will this impact lender oversight? 🚀 The NASA Supply Chain Alliance—what kinds of specialized deal structures will this bring to your desk? 🌾 The SBA-USDA Deregulation Push—will this regulatory relief successfully unleash trapped capital?  🛠This episode is sponsored by SBA Collective — empowering community banks and cred...

This week on SBA Today, Paul and Tonya are back to dissect: ⚙️ Siemens Secures SBLC Status—how fast will this industrial tech giant reshape competition in manufacturing and equipment deals? 🚨 SBA Brain Drain? Are we about to see a massive loss of institutional underwriting knowledge?  📉 Conservative Acquisition Pivot—what the latest whispers about the upcoming SOP revision may mean for business...

This week on SBA Today, Paul and Tonya break down the major agency updates including: 🏢 Agency-Wide Reorganization: The SBA is centralizing core operational units into specialized "centers of excellence" to cut redundancies and lower overhead costs. 📩 Policy Inbox Tracking: While email addresses remain exactly the same, all future policy inquiries will now be assigned a unique Case Reference Num...

This week on SBA Today, Paul and Tonya are tackling: ⏳ The Countdown to $10M: The historic $10M combined 7(a) and 504 loan limit officially takes effect on July 4, and lenders are actively structuring deals now.  🛑 The Sourcing Trap: Many borrowers assume creative deal structures or unverified assets satisfy equity rules, only to watch their deals freeze during final source-of-funds verification...

This week on SBA Today, Paul T Long and Tonya Mazurek are tackling: 📊 The AI Valuation Reality: 67% of intermediaries report AI has no material impact on business valuations yet—fundamentals still carry the deal. 🔓 New Prior Loss Waivers: Effective June 1, 2026, the SBA can grant case-by-case waivers if the affected owner held a non-controlling stake under 20% and never guaranteed the defaulted...

This week on SBA Today, Paul is back for this jam-packed episode! He and Tonya breakdown: 🛑 The No-Skin Searcher Trap: Why credit teams are souring on search fund deals where the "CEO" brings zero direct industry experience and 100% investor-backed down payments.  📊 Demystifying Parris Scores: Why understanding your portfolio's Cumulative Net Yield is like analyzing an insurance drain.  🤖  AI i...

This week on SBA Today, Tonya is flying solo to breakdown: ❌ USDA Lenders Banished—household-name lenders over a $620 million delinquency issue.  📈 The $10M Combined Cap—are your capital-intensive borrowers eligible? ⚖️ $3M Fraud Indictment—signaling a sharp escalation from the new National Fraud Enforcement Division. 🏛️ Navigating the OHA— this independent SBA office might be your last line of...

This week on SBA Today, Paul and Tonya are navigating a heavy news cycle… 📉 Another bank failure—Community Bank and Trust of West Georgia. ⚠️ Why your EIDL autopay might stop after 5 years and land you in Treasury referral. 📑 The top screenouts and credit memo errors currently stalling 7(a) loan approvals. 🤫 The truth behind rumors of a $2 Million cap on 7(a) working capital loans. 🔄 A massive...

This week on SBA Today, Paul and Tonya are tackling: 🎖️ Small Business Week ---celebrating the job creators with regional awards galas and specialized lender training from the Seattle SBA team. ⚖️ The $22 Billion Referral ---the SBA recently referred 562,000 delinquent or "suspected fraud" PPP and EIDL loans to the Treasury. ⚠️ Fraud vs. Filing Errors ---discussing the concern that legitimate smal...

This week on SBA Today, Paul and Tonya are joined by Joseph Raycraft (SBA) to break down the latest updates from the 7(a) Connect Call—specifically the massive expansion of the "Grocery Guarantee" into the logistics sector. The 7(a) Connect Call Highlights: 🛣️ 90% Trucking Guarantee ---local and non-local trucking is now eligible for a 90% guarantee, provided the business is food-related and carri...

This week on SBA Today, Paul and Tonya are talking about: 🆕 New 7(a) Leadership---welcoming Emily Doxzon as the new Chief of 7(a) Loan Origination for the Office of Capital Access.  🍦 Franchise Lending Challenges---how the sunsetting of the SBA Score may make it harder for lenders to justify the time and effort required for startup franchise deals. 📊 Small-Dollar Performance---analyzing lender...

This week on SBA Today, Paul and Tonya are joined by Brett Caines of Lumos to unpack: 🔓 Decoupling Limits—what a major proposed change would mean for borrowers looking for max funding under both 7(a) and 504. 📉 The $309M Cut—why slashing Entrepreneurial Development programs by 93% leaves a massive question mark on borrower support. ⚠️ Rising Defaults—what the latest Lumos data reveals about the...

This week on SBA Today, Paul and Tonya are breaking down: 📉 BayFirst Data: Analysis shows SBA guaranty purchases exceeded original amounts by $3.5 Million. 🏭 The 90% Guarantee: Starting May 1st, the International Trade Loan (ITL) expands to a 90% guarantee for manufacturers (NAICS 31–33) to modernize and reshore production. 🍎 Grocery Guarantee: That same 90% guarantee now extends to the entire...

This week on SBA Today, Paul and Tonya are diving into: 🚚 SBA ON THE MOVE: The SBA has officially relocated its Washington Metro Area District Office to Herndon, Virginia. 📝 AUDIT YOUR OWN FILE: Don't let your deal fall apart over missing basics. 🗣️ FRONTLOAD CLARITY: Quarter-end is no time for ambiguity. 📞 ACTIVE OVER PASSIVE: Call your borrowers daily. 🛡️ PROTECT THE CLOSER: Your closer is th...

If you originated loans between 2023 and 2024, you need to hear this. This week on SBA Today, Paul and Tonya are diving into: 🔍 THE 2026 OVERSIGHT PLAN: What three specific areas—including lenders with rapid increases in loan volume—is the Inspector General zeroing in on this year, and why should SBLCs be particularly worried? 📉 THE KPMG DISCLAIMER: Why did the FY 2025 Independent Audit come wit...

This week on SBA Today, Paul and Tonya are going off the rails with Lance Sexton to discuss: THE TRAINWRECK REPORT: Lance dives into a legendary cautionary tale that serves as a reality check for every lender and BDO.  PLANNING AHEAD: We break down why "knowing what's coming down the line" is the only way to avoid a total trainwreck of your deal.  THE LAST MINUTE TRAP: A discussion on why waiting...

This week on SBA Today, Paul and Tonya dive into: 📉 The Credit Squeeze—What recent data from the Small Business Economic Bulletin shows approval rates for businesses under $5M. 🔄 The Opening vs. Closing Inversion—For the first time since 2020, business establishment closings have begun to outpace openings. 📈 Franchising's 2026 Outlook—The industry is projected to grow by 1.5%, with Texas and Fl...