The Bank of Houston
At a Glance
The smallest bank this round and the one whose SBA page puts the buyer first; what it publishes is people and a claim of national reach, and nothing in figures.
- Pricing
- Custom Pricing, Loan products; terms by term sheet. No size, rate or fee is published for any SBA loan; the desk says it works exclusively with SBA programs and decides locally (per thebankofhouston.com, September 2026).
- Best For
- A buyer anywhere in the country whose deal a two-office Missouri desk that says national can reach by email, with acquisitions the first word on its page
- Track Record
- A Missouri bank founded in 1889 with two offices, whose SBA manager was hired in late 2021 to expand its small business lending in the St. Louis region and nationally, by his own biography.
- Type
- Bank (lends directly)
- Footprint
- A Preferred Lender with national lending capabilities by its SBA page, from two Missouri offices and an SBA team in the St. Louis area.
- 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.
- No amount at either end on any page read: its SBA solutions, team and business loans pages publish no size for any loan.
- Searcher Practice
- A general SBA lending desk, branch-driven.
- An email address for the SBA team and cell phones for its people, with local decision-making in its own words; no online application.
- No page names a search fund or a searcher; its specialties open on 7(a) loans for business acquisitions and expansions, and its SBA loans page says the loans can purchase new businesses and buy out partners.
- Published Terms
- No size, rate or fee published for any SBA loan.
- Roadmap Stages
- 5. Diligence & Close the Deal
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Opens its specialties on 7(a) loans for business acquisitions and expansions, and says SBA loans can be used to purchase new businesses and buy out partners
- Calls its SBA desk a Preferred Lender with national lending capabilities and its team one that works exclusively with SBA programs
- Names its SBA lending manager, chief lending officer and a commercial lender with cell phones and email
Cons
- Publishes no size, rate or fee
- Two Missouri offices and a national claim on the SBA page beside a conventional page written for local business
- The loan file's address for the bank does not resolve; its site is at another name
- Names no search fund, searcher or acquisition entrepreneur
What Searchers Say
Read on its SBA lending solutions, team and business loans pages, its conventional business loans page, its about, contact and locations pages, and its sitemap of eighteen addresses. No searcher-forum discussion of the desk was found.
How to Approach
The Bank of Houston is a bank, so this is how that kind of lender comes in, what it weighs, and how to arrive ready.
The Typical Arc
- A prequalification on you and the target, often from the first email.
- A full application and the bank's own underwrite of the deal.
- A term sheet, then closing on the SBA's timeline, commonly two to four months.
What It Weighs
- Whether the business's cash flow covers the debt with room to spare.
- Your experience relative to the business you are buying.
- Your equity injection and how clean the financials are.
How to Prepare
- Model the payment and coverage before you call. SBA Acquisition Calculator
- Underwrite the specific deal end to end. Underwrite a Deal
- Show where every dollar comes from and goes. Sources & Uses Builder