Zions Bank (SBA lending)
At a Glance
The right first call for a smaller Utah or Idaho acquisition: delegated authority, both SBA programs, and a book that proves it closes sub-$1M deals; outside the two states, ask which affiliate brand you would actually be borrowing from.
- Pricing
- Custom Pricing, Loan products; no fee to engage. The FOIA loan file shows 79 change-of-ownership 7(a) loans totaling $49.5M in FY2025, an average near $627k at a 7.99% average initial rate, and 211 such loans across the file's six years. The desk is tuned to the smaller acquisitions the big specialist books pass over.
- Best For
- Buyers of smaller businesses in or near Utah and Idaho who want a Preferred Lender's delegated authority with pricing on the cheaper side of the acquisition file
- In the Federal File
- 79 change-of-ownership loans in FY2025, 14th most in the country, averaging $627k each, at an average initial rate of 7.99%. Computed from the SBA's own loan-level data, not from anything the lender publishes.
- Track Record
- Four state top-fives in our file at one of the smallest average loans among the twenty most active, though not the smallest: this registry names another desk inside that cut with a smaller average, in three separate places.
- Type
- Bank (lends directly)
- Footprint
- The Utah and Idaho division of a multi-brand parent; other states are served by affiliate brands under other names. It lends beyond the states it names, so one it does not name is worth asking about rather than ruling out.
- 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 7(a) child page carries it, alongside an award. Its acquisition wording sits in carousel slides rather than in the page's running text, so a reader skimming for it can miss both mentions.
- Deal Size
- Up to $2M.
- 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, branch-driven.
- Published Terms
- 7(a) and 504 both offered, with acquisition a named use, as a Preferred Lender.
- Roadmap Stages
- 3. Set Up & Fund the Search5. Diligence & Close the Deal
Pros and Cons
Pros
- SBA Preferred Lender, approving on delegated authority
- Acquisition is a named use on its own SBA page, beside both the 7(a) and the 504
- The smallest average acquisition loan near the top of the FOIA loan file, which means the desk actually works the deals other volume lenders skip
- A 7.99% average initial rate in the FOIA loan file, cheaper than most of the twenty most active
Cons
- A two-state division: the parent bank serves other states under other brands, so a buyer elsewhere is not talking to this desk
- Branch-relationship banking rather than a built-for-remote process
- No published rates and no searcher-community footprint to check its own claims against
What Searchers Say
Its Preferred Lender status and acquisition language are its own page's; the FOIA loan file independently places it among the twenty most active acquisition lenders, leading four states' top-fives, with the smallest average loan in that group.
How to Approach
Zions Bank (SBA lending) 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