Seven kinds of lender serve these companies, and banks and SBA lenders serve the widest range, from the smallest companies up, at the lowest cost. Asset-based lenders lend against receivables and inventory rather than earnings. Private credit funds and BDCs lend further on steady earnings, at a higher rate, mostly to larger companies in the range. SBICs and family offices supply junior or flexible capital, and insurance companies lend long-term fixed-rate money, mostly at the upper end. Which lenders you approach shapes the structure you get, so the list is a decision in its own right.
- Lowest cost
- Banks and SBA lenders, with personal guarantees and, at banks, tighter covenants
- Lend against collateral
- Asset-based lenders: receivables commonly at 80% to 90%
- Lend furthest on earnings
- Private credit funds and BDCs, often in one unitranche loan
- Junior and flexible capital
- SBICs, mezzanine funds and family offices
- Transparent's book
- 1,800+ lenders across every type
The map
| Lender type | Typical borrower | What they lend | Cost | How far they go |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Community and regional banks | From the smallest established companies up, usually local or regional | Term loans, lines of credit, real estate and equipment loans | Lowest | Coverage of at least 1.25x commonly; senior cash-flow loans commonly 2x to 3.5x EBITDA |
| SBA lenders | Small businesses and acquisitions, including first-time buyers | 7(a) loans up to $5 million; 504 loans for owner-occupied property | Low, with variable rates capped by SBA | Coverage of at least 1.15x, and 1.25x on historical results for a change of ownership from 1 October 2026; can lend on goodwill |
| Asset-based lenders | Companies with receivables and inventory, including those with thin or uneven earnings | Revolving lines against a borrowing base; term loans on equipment | Moderate, plus monitoring costs | Receivables at 80% to 90%; inventory up to 85% of net orderly liquidation value |
| Private credit funds and BDCs | Companies with steady earnings toward the larger end of the range, often sponsor-backed | Senior, stretch senior and unitranche loans | Higher, with call protection | Further than banks; unitranche lenders stretch past senior levels |
| SBICs | Small businesses that meet SBA size standards | Mezzanine and subordinated debt, often with warrants; some senior | High, with equity upside | Behind a senior lender, adding leverage the senior will not |
| Family offices | Deal by deal, often where they know the industry or the owner | Anything from senior loans to preferred equity | Wide range | Flexible; depends on the family's appetite |
| Insurance companies | Mostly the upper end of the range and above, with long, stable histories | Long-term fixed-rate notes, directly or through affiliated funds | Moderate for fixed, long money | Conservative senior levels, or junior capital through affiliated funds |
The rows overlap. A regional bank can make an SBA loan; a private credit fund can run an asset-based lending arm; an insurance company can own a mezzanine fund. The type is a guide to how a lender thinks, not a fixed box.
How each type thinks
Banks lend against cash flow, collateral and the owner, in that order, and they price low because they are funded by deposits and regulated to stay safe. They want coverage, a personal guarantee and, often, the company's deposit accounts. They are the right first call for a profitable company with modest leverage needs. Where banks differ from each other is appetite: some favor certain industries, some cap loan size, and some want only borrowers in their footprint. Community vs national banks covers the difference in practice.
SBA lenders are mostly banks and non-bank lenders using SBA's guaranty, which covers 85% of 7(a) loans of $150,000 or less and 75% above that. The guaranty lets them lend on goodwill and with smaller down payments than a conventional loan, which is why they dominate small acquisitions. The price is SBA's rules: equity injections, seller-note standby, personal guarantees from every owner of 20% or more. Preferred vs standard SBA lenders explains why lender choice matters inside the program too.
Asset-based lenders care about what they could collect if the business stopped. They lend a percentage of eligible receivables and inventory, test it constantly through borrowing base reports and field exams, and are less concerned with a bad year of earnings. That makes them the natural lender for a growing distributor or a company recovering from a loss. Bank vs non-bank ABL covers the two kinds.
Private credit funds and BDCs lend investors' money, not deposits, and price for higher returns. A business development company is a regulated fund structure, often publicly traded, that lends to private companies. Both look for durable earnings and a sponsor or owner with money at risk, and in return lend further, with lighter amortization, in one loan. Private credit pricing explains what they charge and why.
SBICs are private funds licensed by SBA to invest in small businesses, using SBA-backed leverage alongside their own capital. They typically provide the junior layer behind a bank. SBIC lenders covers how they work. Family offices invest a family's own wealth, can move outside standard boxes and often want a relationship as much as a return; see family office direct lending. Insurance companies need long, predictable income to match their policy obligations, so they favor long-dated fixed-rate loans to stable, larger companies, and reach the lower middle market mainly through affiliated funds.
Transparent's lender book, by what lenders write
Transparent's lender book holds 1,800+ lenders. Many write more than one kind of credit, so the counts below overlap.
| Kind of credit | Lenders in the book |
|---|---|
| Term and private credit | 1,148 |
| SBA 7(a) and 504 | 278 |
| Equipment | 244 |
| Asset-based and lines | 235 |
| Factoring | 116 |
The size of each group matters less than its spread. Within term and private credit alone there are lenders that stop well below the upper end of the range and lenders that will not look at anything smaller, lenders that avoid whole industries and lenders that specialize in them. The lender book describes how it is organized.
Choosing whom to approach is a structuring decision
Owners often think of lenders as interchangeable sources of the same product, to be compared on rate. They are not. The lenders you approach decide the structure you end up with:
- Approach only banks, and the debt is capped at what a bank will lend, with a personal guarantee. If that is not enough, the deal stalls rather than finding a second layer.
- Approach only private credit funds, and a business that qualified for bank or SBA pricing may pay a fund's rate and call protection for leverage it did not need.
- Approach SBA lenders for a deal whose seller wants an earnout or a paying note, and the structure breaks on SBA's rules late in the process.
- Approach an asset-based lender for a service business with few receivables, and the borrowing base will be small no matter how profitable the company is.
The better sequence starts with the structure: how much debt the cash flow and assets support, what the owner will and will not sign, what the seller needs, and what the business plans next. That points to one or two lender types, and then to the specific lenders within them whose appetite matches the industry, size and situation. The comparison that matters is between lenders who can all say yes, on the same package. Using a debt advisor vs going direct covers when that work is worth delegating.
A deal shown to the wrong lenders is not just slower. It can come back with the wrong structure, from a lender that was never the right fit.
Matching the lender to the situation
| Situation | Lender types to start with |
|---|---|
| Acquisition within SBA limits, buyer with limited equity | SBA lenders; banks if the equity is larger |
| Profitable company refinancing or expanding, modest leverage | Community and regional banks |
| Distributor or manufacturer with large receivables and uneven earnings | Asset-based lenders |
| Acquisition above the SBA cap with a sponsor | Private credit funds and BDCs, or a bank with a mezzanine lender |
| Owner wants no personal guarantee | Private credit funds, mostly for larger or sponsor-backed companies; not SBA, which requires one from every 20% owner |
| Growth capital beyond senior capacity | SBICs or mezzanine funds behind a bank |
| Unusual situation that fits no box | Family offices |
| Refinancing out of merchant cash advances | Not SBA while an advance is active; banks, asset-based lenders or private credit, depending on cash flow once the advances are repaid; see MCA refinance |
As a company grows, its natural lenders change. A business that started on an SBA loan can move to a bank as earnings grow and the personal guarantee becomes negotiable, then to a fund or a larger bank when it needs acquisition capacity. Financing acquisitions above the SBA limit covers that transition, and how much debt a business can carry shows how each type sizes a loan.
What every lender type will ask for
The documents overlap more than the lenders do. Every type will want the P&L, the balance sheet, a year-to-date P&L and a debt schedule. SBA lenders add two to three years of business and personal tax returns and a personal financial statement for each owner of 20% or more. Asset-based lenders add receivable and payable agings and, where it is in the borrowing base, an inventory report. Acquisition lenders of every type want the target's latest full year of figures and the letter of intent.
Transparent builds one lender package, with a financing model, lender presentation, blind teaser and underwriting memo, in a day once the documents are in, and adapts it for each lender type approached. Transparent charges nothing before a loan closes. The package shows what lenders receive, and what we do covers the rest of the process.
Common questions
- Are banks always the cheapest lender?
- For the debt they are willing to make, usually. The catch is how much they will make and on what terms: personal guarantees, amortization and covenants. Where a bank will not go far enough, the cheapest overall structure may combine a bank with a junior lender rather than replace it.
- What is the difference between a BDC and a private credit fund?
- A business development company is a regulated fund structure, often publicly traded, that lends to private companies. A private credit fund raises money privately from investors. To a borrower they behave similarly: higher pricing than banks, more leverage, call protection.
- Do SBICs lend senior debt?
- Some do, but most provide subordinated or mezzanine debt, often with warrants, behind a bank. They are licensed by SBA and invest in businesses that meet SBA size standards.
- How many lenders should I approach?
- Enough of the right type to create real comparison, not every lender that might say yes. Showing a deal too widely can make it look shopped. Start from the structure the business needs and approach the lenders whose appetite fits it.
- Can I use more than one type of lender in the same deal?
- Yes, and larger deals often do: a bank or asset-based lender for the senior loan or revolver, with mezzanine, an SBIC or a seller note behind it. The lenders then sign an intercreditor or subordination agreement.