# Charge-off

A lender writing a loan off as a loss and no longer expecting repayment.

In the SBA's loan-level data it is the visible failure marker for acquisition loans. Charge-off rates by industry are the closest public record of which acquisitions actually fail, and lenders price and screen with them whether or not the buyer ever looks.

In numbers: In the SBA's own loan-level file, roughly 4% of the FY2018-19 acquisition loans had been charged off within about seven years: the bank wrote off the balance, and the [personal guarantee](https://searchspheresource.com/glossary/personal-guarantee) kept the borrower attached to it.

Source: https://searchspheresource.com/glossary/charge-off
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