Recently, the SBA tightened up its 7(a) loan program. While it wasn’t officially named after a meme coin, the rule changes were definitely inspired by the wild west of SBA lending over the past couple years.
Here’s what’s changed — and why it matters:
- Tighter Underwriting: Lenders now need cleaner files and better justifications.
- Return of the SBA Guarantee Fee: This used to be waived during COVID. It’s back now, meaning borrowers pay a small percentage (usually around 2–3%) on the guaranteed portion of the loan.
- More Conservative Lenders: Many lenders have pulled back or are ghosting applicants they would’ve approved last year.
Translation: getting approved isn’t as easy as it was in 2022 or 2023. But here’s the good news — the credit-based path is still open. You just need someone who knows how to build and present the file under the new rules.
At Irving Fund, we live in the weeds of this stuff. We help business owners:
- Skip the guesswork
- Submit a clean file upfront
- Get funded even if other lenders said no
If your loan gets kicked to the side now, chances are it won’t get picked up again unless someone steps in who knows how to fix it.
We do.
