# First Internet Bank (SBA lending)

A branchless nationwide SBA acquisition lender.

A branchless, nationwide SBA lender whose 7(a) practice runs to the $5M cap with business acquisition listed as the loan's headline use, plus SBA Express loans and lines to $500k with credit decisions inside 48 hours.

- Category: SBA & Acquisition Lenders
- Pricing model: Custom Pricing
- Where it fits: Set Up & Fund the Search, Diligence & Close the Deal
- Website: https://www.firstib.com/business/sba-loans/

## At a Glance

A strong second or third [term sheet](https://searchspheresource.com/glossary/term-sheet) for mid-size and larger SBA deals, especially if you want the whole process remote.

- In the Federal File: 251 change-of-ownership loans in FY2025, 3rd most in the country, averaging $1.5M each, at an average initial rate of 10.05%. Computed from the SBA's own loan-level data, not from anything the lender publishes.
- Track Record: A branchless nationwide SBA lender with acquisition as the headline use.
- 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.
- Deal Size: $500k to $5M.
  - Publishes no floor. Most of this shelf gives a ceiling that is really the agency's own cap, and no minimum at all.
- Searcher Practice: A general SBA lending desk, handled remotely.
  - Branchless by its own SBA page, which says "No branches" and calls it a digital-first bank with a streamlined online application, the same shape as Newtek.
  - Its SBA loans page never mentions a search fund, but its own page for SBA officer Jared Johnson says he works closely with search funds and names the Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition ecosystems. No page is named for a searcher practice.
- Published Terms: 7(a) to the $5M cap; Express to $500k with decisions inside 48 hours.

## What It Costs

Loan products; no fee to engage. 7(a) to $5M with 10-year terms for acquisitions and 25 for real estate; Express to $500k; no prepayment penalty on terms under 15 years (per firstib.com, August 2026). Rates are quoted per deal and not published.

## Best For

[Searchers](https://searchspheresource.com/glossary/searcher) anywhere in the US who want a larger-deal SBA bank with a fully remote process; its bankers are visible in [search-fund](https://searchspheresource.com/glossary/search-fund) and university ETA circles

## Pros and Cons

- Pro: Nationwide online model with no branch-footprint constraints
- Pro: Acquisition is the stated primary [7(a)](https://searchspheresource.com/glossary/sba-7a) use, with [partner buyouts](https://searchspheresource.com/glossary/partner-buyout) explicitly covered
- Pro: Named 2024 Online Lender of the Year by the Coleman Report, per its site
- Pro: SBA bankers who work directly with searchers and university ETA programs, so search-style structures need less explaining
- Con: No published rates or fees; quotes only
- Con: Acquisition-volume claims are not independently published by the bank, so treat top-lender framing as directional
- Con: Online-only: there is no local banker to sit across from if that matters to you

## What Searchers Say

Its SBA bankers appear across searcher podcasts and university programs, and FOIA-based lender roundups describe it as a larger-deal acquisition lender with average loans above $1M. Community threads are thinner than for Live Oak; ask for searcher references at your deal size.

## Sources

- https://www.firstib.com/business/sba-loans/
- https://www.firstib.com/business/sba-loans/jared-johnson/
- https://www.sbalenders.com/top-sba-lenders/

Also on this site: https://searchspheresource.com/resources/category/lender.md
Source: https://searchspheresource.com/resources/first-internet-bank
Last checked: 2026-10-06

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