# Byline Bank (Small Business Capital)

An SBA lender with a self-funded search practice.

A 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.

- Category: SBA & Acquisition Lenders
- Pricing model: Custom Pricing
- Where it fits: Set Up & Fund the Search, Diligence & Close the Deal
- Website: https://www.bylinebank.com/small-business-capital/search-acquisition/

## At a Glance

Put it on the [term-sheet](https://searchspheresource.com/glossary/term-sheet) shortlist next to Live Oak; a dedicated [searcher](https://searchspheresource.com/glossary/searcher) practice with published timelines is exactly what you want to see from a bank.

- In the Federal File: 164 change-of-ownership loans in FY2025, 4th most in the country, averaging $1.3M each, at an average initial rate of 8.63%. Computed from the SBA's own loan-level data, not from anything the lender publishes.
- Track Record: A Chicago Preferred Lender with a dedicated self-funded-search practice.
- Type: Bank (lends directly)
- Footprint: Nationwide.
- Approval Authority: Says it holds SBA Preferred Lender status, so it can approve the loan itself rather than sending the file to the agency for a second look.
  - The acquisition page's own body says it, twice, as the reason for in-house credit decisions and faster approvals, and the small-business hub's title carries it; until September 2026 only the site-wide footer did, beside the deposit-insurance line.
- Deal Size: $500k and up, past the single-loan 7(a) cap.
  - Pairs a conventional loan with the 7(a) for a price above the cap.
  - States a floor: the smallest loan it publishes is $350k.
  - Three marketing landing pages carry loans starting at $350,000 and the acquisition page states no minimum. The bank also splits business loans above and below half a million. Its express page prints two lanes, Byline Express from $25,000 to $500,000 and SBA Express from $10,000 to $350,000, so the number that matters is easy to read off the wrong product.
- Searcher Practice: A dedicated searcher and acquisition practice, handled remotely.
  - A page named for search and acquisition that publishes what almost nobody else does: a term sheet in 24 to 48 hours, a 50-day close, up to 90% financing, and a stated spread over the Wall Street Journal prime rate.
- Practice Lending: A practice lending program that names buying a practice.
  - Its pharmacy SBA page lends to pharmacy owners for business acquisition, start-up and expansion, and prints up to $5 million, terms up to 10 years for most uses, no prepayment penalty and a nationwide footprint.
- Published Terms: Up to 90% financing, with a term sheet in a published 24 to 48 hours.
- Past the SBA Cap: Byline Sponsor Finance: EBITDA between $2 million and $10 million. Holds positions for its own balance sheet and partners with other lenders, including third-party mezzanine investors, when appropriate.
- Who the Desk Says It Lends To: Private equity sponsors, family offices and independent sponsors.
  - Across the United States, from Chicago and Charlotte.

## What It Costs

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, August 2026).

## Best For

[Self-funded searchers](https://searchspheresource.com/glossary/self-funded-search) who want a bank that names them as the customer, publishes its timelines, and can stack conventional debt above the [7(a)](https://searchspheresource.com/glossary/sba-7a) cap for bigger deals

## Pros and Cons

- Pro: A rare dedicated self-funded-search lending page, with a named banker and nationwide coverage
- Pro: SBA [Preferred Lender](https://searchspheresource.com/glossary/preferred-lender-program) status: credit decisions made in-house rather than routed through the SBA
- Pro: Published speed targets (term sheet in 24 to 48 hours, close in about 50 days) you can hold them to
- Pro: Top-five 7(a) acquisition lender by FY2025 volume in FOIA-based rankings, with roughly $1M average deals
- Con: 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
- Con: 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.

## Compared With

- Which searcher-dedicated SBA bank leads your term-sheet list? (https://searchspheresource.com/resources/compare/live-oak-bank-vs-byline-bank.md)

## Sources

- https://www.bylinebank.com/small-business-capital/search-acquisition/
- https://www.bylinebank.com/national-sba-lender/
- https://ctacquisitions.com/guides/sba-acquisition-lender-rankings-2026/

Also on this site: https://searchspheresource.com/resources/category/lender.md
Source: https://searchspheresource.com/resources/byline-bank
Last checked: 2026-10-03

Site index for machines: https://searchspheresource.com/llms.txt