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Live Oak Bank vs Byline Bank (Small Business Capital)

Which searcher-dedicated SBA bank leads your term-sheet list?

Live Oak Bank

The SBA's #1 7(a) lender by dollar volume, with a dedicated acquisition and search fund lending practice: 7(a) loans up to the $5M program cap and combination 7(a)+conventional structures to roughly $9M.

Custom pricing · Loan products (no fee to engage). SBA 7(a) up to $5M; combination structures up to ~$9M for $7–10M+ enterprise-value deals; free weekly M&A office hours for buyers targeting $500k–$12M businesses.

  • SBA's #1 7(a) lender FY2025: $2.8B across 2,280 approvals, including 679 acquisition loans totaling $896M, which means deep pattern recognition on deals like yours
  • Dedicated search fund lending vertical
  • Free weekly M&A office hours open to any buyer
  • Acquisition practice skews larger (FY2025 average acquisition loan was $1.32M), so sub-$500k deals aren't the sweet spot
  • Its own marketing is inconsistent on the office-hours deal range ($1M floor on one page, $500k on the registration page)

Verified Jul 10, 2026 · Full review →

Byline Bank (Small Business Capital)

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.

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).

  • 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
  • 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

Verified Jul 11, 2026 · Full review →

Our take

Choose Live Oak for scale and pattern recognition: the largest 7(a) dollars in the country, a dedicated search fund practice, and combination structures to roughly $9M.

Choose Byline for the searcher-first posture: a dedicated self-funded-search page, quoted rate ranges, up to 90% financing, and published term-sheet and closing timelines you can hold them to.