Stearns Bank (SBA lending)
SBA & Acquisition LendersA nationwide SBA Preferred Lender with one of the larger 7(a) practices in the country, active in business-acquisition lending and equipment finance, with a division offering a streamlined small-dollar 7(a) product for loans the big acquisition desks deprioritize.
- Pricing
- Custom pricing, Loan products; no fee to engage. Rates are quoted per deal and not published. FOIA-based FY2025 acquisition-lender roundups place Stearns in the top ten by volume; treat third-party rankings as directional.
- Best For
- A competing term sheet on standard acquisition deals, and smaller loans where its streamlined small-dollar product reaches deals specialist acquisition banks often will not prioritize
- Roadmap Stages
- 3. Set Up & Fund the Search7. Diligence & Financing
Pros
- SBA Preferred Lender: credit decisions made in-house rather than routed through the SBA
- Nationwide reach with a long-standing SBA practice beyond any single region
- A streamlined small-dollar 7(a) product through its lending division, covered by trade press, serving the underbanked small end
- Top-ten 7(a) acquisition volume in FY2025 FOIA-based roundups
Cons
- No dedicated searcher or acquisition practice page, so expect to explain search-style structures
- Acquisition lending sits alongside large equipment-finance and small-dollar businesses; its acquisition share is not broken out publicly
- No published rates or timelines to hold it to
What Searchers Say
Known in SBA circles as a high-volume, technology-forward 7(a) lender, with trade-press coverage of its small-dollar lending push. Searcher-community discussion is thin relative to Live Oak or Byline; sentiment is roundup-level rather than firsthand.