Byline Bank (Small Business Capital)
SBA & acquisition lendersA Chicago-based SBA Preferred Lender with a dedicated self-funded search acquisition practice: up to 90% financing, SBA 7(a) to $5M with conventional debt layered above it, and published targets of 24 to 48 hours to a term sheet and roughly 50 days to close.
- Pricing
- Custom pricing, Loan products; no fee to engage. Its searcher page quotes rates of 2% to 2.75% over prime depending on structure, up to 90% financing, no prepayment penalty on non-real-estate loans, and nationwide coverage (per bylinebank.com, July 2026).
- Best for
- Self-funded searchers who want a bank that names them as the customer, publishes its timelines, and can stack conventional debt above the 7(a) cap for bigger deals
- Roadmap stages
- 3. Set up & fund the search7. Diligence & financing
Pros
- A rare dedicated self-funded-search lending page, with a named banker and nationwide coverage
- SBA Preferred Lender status: credit decisions made in-house rather than routed through the SBA
- Published speed targets (term sheet in 24 to 48 hours, close in about 50 days) you can hold them to
- Top-five 7(a) acquisition lender by FY2025 volume in FOIA-based rankings, with roughly $1M average deals
Cons
- The quoted spread tops out at prime plus 2.75%, above the prime plus 2.25% many acquisition specialists quote, so compare term sheets carefully
- Third-party roundups describe a franchise and professional-services skew, so pure searcher deals are one practice among several
What searchers say
FOIA-based FY2025 roundups place Byline in the top five 7(a) acquisition lenders, and customer testimonials on lender-comparison sites praise communication and hand-holding. Searchfunder-specific threads are sparse; the dedicated searcher page is itself the clearest signal it wants this market.