From 1 October 2023 to 30 June 2026, 116 SBA lenders approved 1,231 7(a) loans in Louisiana worth about $722 million. The median loan was $218,000, above the national median of $150,300, and the median rate at approval was 10.5%, a quarter point above the national 10.25%. Acquisitions made up 12.2% of loans, at a median of $905,850. Louisiana businesses should expect lenders to test whether recent revenue is repeatable, to price insurance into cash flow, and to plan for spousal consent under the state's community property rules.
| Measure | Louisiana | All industries |
|---|---|---|
| SBA 7(a) loans approved | 1,231 | 162,355 |
| Median loan | $218,000 | $150,300 |
| Middle half of loans | $100,000 – $576,850 | $50,000 – $500,000 |
| Loans of $1 million or more | 16% | 12.9% |
| Median rate at approval | 10.5% | 10.25% |
| Middle half of rates | 9.5% – 11.25% | 9.3% – 11.25% |
| Acquisitions (change of ownership) | 150 (12.2%) | 16,849 (10.4%) |
| Median acquisition loan | $905,850 | $693,000 |
| Lenders that made these loans | 116 | 1,648 |
| SBA 504 loans (real estate, equipment) | 51 | 16,714 |
Approvals FY2024 – FY2026 to date (1 Oct 2023 – 30 Jun 2026), cancelled loans excluded. Source: SBA 7(a) and 504 FOIA loan records, as of June 30, 2026.
- 7(a) loans approved
- 1,231 (1 Oct 2023 – 30 Jun 2026)
- Median loan
- $218,000 (national: $150,300)
- Median rate at approval
- 10.5% (national: 10.25%)
- Acquisition loans
- 150 (12.2%), median $905,850 at 9.75%
- Fixed-rate share
- 9.2% of loans
- SBA 504 loans
- 51, median $1,025,000
Louisiana against the national figures
Louisiana is a mid-sized SBA market with a larger-than-average loan. Half of the state's 7(a) approvals were above $218,000, and the middle half of loans ran from $100,000 to $576,850. At the top end, one loan in ten exceeded $1,623,400, and 197 loans, or 16% of the total, were for $1 million or more. The median loan supported six jobs.
| Measure | Louisiana | National | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median 7(a) loan | $218,000 | $150,300 | Louisiana borrowers finance larger projects than the typical SBA borrower. |
| Median rate at approval | 10.5% | 10.25% | Slightly dearer despite the larger loans; the middle half ran 9.5% to 11.25%. |
| Acquisitions as a share of loans | 12.2% | 10.4% | Buying an existing business is a larger part of the market here. |
| Median acquisition loan | $905,850 at 9.75% | — | Acquisition loans sit well above the state median and priced below it. |
Two details are worth a second look. First, the rate. A median loan of $218,000 falls in the SBA tier where the lender may charge up to the base rate plus 6%, and the typical Louisiana loan priced a quarter point above the national median. The cap is a ceiling, not a price, so where a loan lands inside it depends on the lender and the file. Our SBA loan rates page shows how the caps step down as loans get larger.
Second, almost every Louisiana SBA borrower took a variable rate. Only 9.2% of loans were fixed-rate. On a 10-year loan, which is what the median term of 120 months implies, the payment moves with the base rate for the whole life of the loan. Owners should model their coverage at a higher rate, not only at today's, because a lender will ask what happens if it rises. Fixed vs variable rate business loans sets out the trade.
Restaurants and the trades: what the industry mix says
By loan count, the five biggest Louisiana industries were full-service restaurants (61 loans), limited-service restaurants (52), all other specialty trade contractors (26), plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors (25) and residential remodelers (24). Two food-service categories and three building trades: a construction-heavy top five that tells you what Louisiana lenders are used to reading.
For the restaurants, the questions are the familiar ones: the lease, the owner's operating history, and whether sales hold up across the year. Start-ups took 22.1% of Louisiana loans and franchises 12.5%, so a large share of restaurant lending here is to new units, where the lender is underwriting the operator and a projection. Established restaurants with several years of returns are a different file, and it helps to say so. The full-service restaurant and limited-service restaurant pages go into each.
For the trades, the Louisiana-specific question is repeatability. Contractors, remodelers and HVAC companies in the state can see revenue jump after a major storm, when insurance-funded repair work arrives all at once, and then settle back. A lender sizing a 10-year loan does not want to size it on a peak year. Expect to be asked for several years of revenue and margin, to show how much of the latest year came from storm work, and to explain what the business earns in an ordinary year. A contractor who separates recurring service and maintenance revenue from one-time project work gives the lender a number it can lend against.
A strong year that came from one storm season is not a weak file, but it needs to be explained before a lender explains it for you.
Louisiana issues that change the underwriting
SBA rules are federal and apply the same way in every state. What differs is the ground the loan sits on. Four Louisiana realities come up in credit memos.
- Flood and windstorm insurance. SBA requires flood insurance on buildings taken as collateral in a special flood hazard area, and lenders require hazard coverage on business assets. In coastal and low-lying parishes that insurance is a meaningful operating cost. Lenders read the current premium, not last year's, into cash flow, and a renewal that has jumped since the last tax return should be shown in the projection.
- Community property. Louisiana is a community property state. Unless spouses have a separate property arrangement, lenders commonly ask a guarantor's spouse to sign or consent so that community assets are reachable, even if the spouse has no role in the business. Plan for it at the start.
- Civil-law documents. Louisiana's property and contract law comes from the civil-law tradition rather than the common law used elsewhere. Real estate is pledged by a Louisiana mortgage, and UCC financing statements are filed with a parish clerk of court and indexed statewide. Lenders use Louisiana counsel and Louisiana-form documents; a lender that rarely closes in the state may be slower to get comfortable.
- Energy and industrial customers. Many Louisiana service businesses sell into oil and gas, petrochemical or port operations. A lender will read the customer list and ask what happens to cash flow if the biggest account slows. Customer concentration and debt explains how lenders weigh it.
Buying a Louisiana business with SBA
Lenders approved 150 acquisition loans in Louisiana at a median of $905,850, more than four times the state's overall median loan, and at a median rate of 9.75%, below the state's 10.5%. An acquisition loan of that size sits above $350,000, where SBA's cap drops to the base rate plus 3%, and it is secured by a business whose cash flow the lender can measure.
The program rules are the national ones. A complete change of ownership needs equity of at least 10% of total project costs. A seller note counts toward up to half of that only if it is on full standby for the life of the SBA loan; a note that is paid currently is allowed, but it is debt and counts in debt service. SBA prohibits an earnout to the seller, and the seller may not stay on as an owner, officer or employee. The seller may consult for up to 12 months, and up to 24 months under SOP 50 10 8.1 from 1 October 2026.
The 1 October 2026 changes matter for Louisiana buyers in particular, because so many targets are trades businesses with lumpy recent years. From that date, a change of ownership must show debt service coverage of 1.25x on historical results, financial due diligence is required on every change of ownership, and a quality of earnings report is required on acquisitions of $3 million or more excluding real estate. A target that earned 1,250 in a storm year and 900 in the year before will be judged on what the lender believes is repeatable, and historical coverage is now the test.
Where the amount financed, less appraised real estate and equipment, exceeds $250,000, SBA also requires an independent business valuation, and the loan for the purchase cannot exceed it. With a median acquisition loan of $905,850, most Louisiana deals will need one.
SBA or conventional in Louisiana
SBA is the right tool when the guaranty buys something the deal needs. It is not automatically the cheaper loan, and the choice depends on what is being financed.
| Situation | Usually fits | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Buying a trades company or restaurant whose value is mostly goodwill | SBA 7(a) | 10-year terms and a 10% minimum injection; conventional lenders want more equity against intangible value. |
| Buying or building an owner-occupied property | SBA 504 or 7(a) with real estate up to 25 years | Lenders approved 51 504 loans in Louisiana, at a median of $1,025,000; worth comparing before defaulting to a bank mortgage. |
| A contractor whose working capital swings with jobs | Conventional or asset-based line | A revolver sized to receivables rises and falls with the work; a term loan does not. |
| Strong earnings and real estate that already secure the loan | Conventional term loan | No SBA guaranty fee or eligibility review; conventional banks commonly want coverage of at least 1.25x. |
| Refinancing a merchant cash advance | Usually not SBA | SBA will not refinance an active advance; see MCA refinance. |
For an owner comparing the two programs for a building, SBA 7(a) vs SBA 504 sets them side by side. For a purchase, SBA 7(a) vs a conventional acquisition loan does the same.
Preparing a Louisiana file
The 116 lenders that approved Louisiana 7(a) loans are not interchangeable. Some focus on franchise units, some on acquisitions above $1 million, some on small Express loans; SBA Express, capped at $500,000 with a 50% guaranty, made up 18.3% of Louisiana approvals. A file sent to a lender whose box it does not fit is declined for reasons that have nothing to do with the business.
The core SBA documents are the same everywhere: two to three years of business tax returns, a P&L and balance sheet, a debt schedule with copies of notes being refinanced, and personal tax returns and a personal financial statement for each owner of 20% or more. A Louisiana file is stronger when it also answers the state's own questions:
- Current insurance premiums, with any renewal increase since the last return shown in the projection
- For contractors: revenue split between storm-related work and recurring work, year by year
- Revenue by customer, especially any energy, industrial or port customer above a small share
- Marital status of each guarantor, and any separate property arrangement
- For an acquisition: the target's latest full year of figures and the letter of intent
Transparent's lender book holds 1,800+ lenders, 278 of which write SBA 7(a) and 504 and 1,148 of which write conventional term and private credit, so an SBA request and its conventional alternative can be compared on the same file. Once the documents are in, Transparent builds the full lender package, a financing model, lender presentation, blind teaser and underwriting memo, in a day. Transparent charges nothing before a loan closes, and on SBA loans the lender pays Transparent, not the borrower. The package shows what lenders receive.
Common questions
- What is the typical SBA loan size in Louisiana?
- The median Louisiana 7(a) loan approved from October 2023 to June 2026 was $218,000, and the middle half ran from $100,000 to $576,850. That is above the national median of $150,300. Acquisition loans were much larger, at a median of $905,850.
- What rate do SBA loans carry in Louisiana?
- The median rate at approval was 10.5%, against 10.25% nationally, with the middle half between 9.5% and 11.25%. Only 9.2% of Louisiana loans were fixed-rate, so most borrowers carry a rate that moves with the base rate.
- Does my spouse have to sign for an SBA loan in Louisiana?
- Often, yes. Louisiana is a community property state, and lenders commonly ask a guarantor's spouse to sign or consent so community assets can be reached, unless the spouses have a separate property arrangement. Raise it early.
- Will a lender count my storm-repair revenue?
- It will count what it believes is repeatable. Expect to show several years of results and to separate storm-driven project work from recurring revenue. From 1 October 2026, an SBA change of ownership must show 1.25x coverage on historical results, so the filed history is the test.
- Do I need flood insurance for an SBA loan in Louisiana?
- If a building taken as collateral is in a special flood hazard area, SBA requires flood insurance on it. Lenders also require hazard coverage, and they will read the current premium into your cash flow.