SBA Today

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...

This week on SBA Today , we are covering a massive regulatory shift for Green Card holders, a major SBLC merger, and new mandatory requirements for small loans that lenders cannot ignore. Paul and Tonya discuss: 🤝 SBLC MERGER ALERT: Harvest Small Business Finance, one of the 16 SBLCs, is merging with Crossroads Impact (a CDFI) . We'll be watching closely to see how this affects their lending foot...

This week on SBA Today, Paul and Tonya are joined by David Parrish , a 20-year SBA veteran and secondary market expert, for a deep dive into the massive regulatory and structural shifts hitting the industry in early 2026. From the strategic move to allow SOFR and Treasury base rates to the candid "insider" truth behind the agency's 53% headcount reduction, this episode is packed with the data and...

This week on SBA Today, Paul and Tonya tackle: 🛂 New Citizenship Mandate —what it means for Lawful Permanent Residents (green card holders). 🏛️ Shutdown Status —the Senate passed the stopgap bill, and it's now in the House for a final vote. ⏳ The Shutdown Squeeze —a short shutdown creates a massive backlog that hits closings first. 🏗️ Permitting is a Problem —Period. 💡 The Execution Gap —Capita...

This week on SBA Today, Paul and Tonya are breaking down: 📑 The 1919 Exit : The SBA is moving toward a fully electronic submission experience, eventually eliminating the physical Form 1919 altogether. 🔍 SOP Updates : SBA is now requiring two months of commercial bank statements for 7(a) Small loans to verify real cash flow. ✅ Agency Slim-Down : In 2025, the SBA reduced its workforce by 54%, clo...

The SBA just released the Procedural Notice on the new SBSS score guidelines, and the subtext is clear. This week, Paul and Tonya are breaking down: SBSS Sunsetting—Lenders must pivot to internal credit scoring models consistent with their non-SBA guaranteed loans. The "Hidden" Message: Paul explains that the SBA now wants a full analysis on every loan. Shutdown Déjà Vu: With appropriation talks s...

The SBA just dropped a massive update for 2026 that will completely change how small-dollar loans are underwritten. Paul and Tonya break down: SBSS Sunset: The Small Business Scoring Service (SBSS) will be discontinued on February 28, 2026, for 7(a) Small loans at or below $350,000.  Lender Freedom: Lenders can now use their own existing scoring models to streamline small-dollar lending.  New Insp...

Happy New Year! We are kicking off 2026 with a massive episode of SBA Today. From a federal fraud "freeze" impacting thousands of loans to new data on loan performance, we are diving deep into the news you need to start your year strong. We're breaking down: ❄️ The Minnesota Freeze—Administrator Kelly Loeffler announced that nearly 7,000 SBA loans in Minnesota are being blocked due to a $400 milli...

This week on SBA Today, Paul and Tonya explore the "SBA Dark Web" for a look at the Federal Register before diving into shocking new data on lender satisfaction . From shifting form requirements to a massive satisfaction crash for online lenders, we're looking at what small businesses really want—and where the industry is missing the mark . We're breaking down: 🔍 SBA Dark Web & Form Gutting: Paul...