SBA authorization

Definition

The terms a lender must close an SBA loan under, once approved.

Why It Matters

It is the moment the loan stops being a proposal. The SBA's current rulebook calls it the SBA Terms and Conditions, entered in the agency's loan system, and the lender must close the loan under it: fees, repayment terms, use of proceeds, guarantors, collateral and insurance. The conditions in the lender's credit memo, such as the standby agreement, the landlord consent and the injection proof, must be met before any money moves as well. Read them the day they arrive, because every line is a task with an owner, and the ones that involve a third party are the ones that slip. A closing date set before this document exists is a hope.

In numbers: A file approved with 8 conditions attached is 8 separate errands, and the 2 or 3 needing a landlord, an insurer, or a state office decide whether the date holds. Missing one on a $1.2M loan does not reprice the deal, it moves it.