Anyone have info on the potential SBA 7(a) debt limit increase?

April 14, 2025

by a professional from United States Air Force Academy in Chattanooga, TN, USA

I've seen word going around that there was a bipartisan proposal to increase the SBA 7(a) debt limit from $5mm to $10mm. Apparently it was proposed in early March -- does anyone know whether or not this proposal has any life in Congress? Would be a game changer for self-funded searchers trying to compete with traditional search and private equity piggy banks.

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Reply by an intermediary
from Clemson University in Raleigh, NC, USA

Steve Mariani and I brought this to the SBA and a handful of Congress members late last year. There is pushback from the left based on misunderstandings about how the SBA works. They assume (incorrectly) that increasing the guarantee limit will "benefit the rich" and that it will take funds from the express program. Completely false, it would actually increase funding available. I am a proponent of higher fees above $5M, while Steve is not (Diamond Financial Services - largest SBA loan packager in the country). My thesis for justifying an increase is simple - the last time the limit was raised was 2010 from $2M to $5m. Which assuming a 3% cost of living increase means business buyers today have ~43% less purchasing power than they did in 2010.

Reply by a lender
from Eastern Illinois University in 900 E Diehl Rd, Naperville, IL 60563, USA

It does not appear to have gone anywhere at this point. There has been a push to get an increase in SBA guarantee limits done for a while. The SBA program is popular on both sides of the aisle and the current administration is certainly business friendly. The biggest hurdle is likely the fact that Congress is negotiating reduction in costs with the current funding bill, and this would technically be an increase as they would need to approve a big increase in SBA funding to cover the guarantees on these loans. I am hopeful a change will get passed. As soon as we get an update I will post it.

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