Broker Insisting on using his SBA Banker

March 02, 2026

by a searcher from Northwestern University - Kellogg School of Management in Brooklyn, NY, USA

Hi, I was curious if anyone has experience with a business broker insisting on you using their SBA banker and how you have approached this. I am open to letting their broker be included but am not sure how I feel about having to use their lender. What are people's thoughts on how to approach this?

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Reply by a professional
from Northern Arizona University in Tucson, AZ, USA

Not uncommon — but a few things to keep in mind. 1st, the broker may be getting a referral fee from that SBA lender. If so, they are required to disclose it. That alone doesn’t make it unethical. 2nd, most preferred lenders are there because they can execute and close. Many are perfectly solid. I know many successful arrangements like this. But… alignment matters. The lender ultimately works for you the borrower. Not the broker. If a broker is truly insisting you can only use their lender, that’s where I’d slow things down and ask a few more questions.

Reply by a searcher
from Duke University in Westfield, NJ 07090, USA

I had this with my deal, but one of my broker's "strongly recommended" banks was one of the banks I wanted anyway, so I just insisted in using my guy there. It's your loan so you need to feel comfortable with the bank not the other way around. They just want to make sure the deal gets done (or is getting a kickback, who knows) - so path of least resistance is play along (as Andy said) but at the end of the day, if you prefer a different bank and they'll do the deal too, they should have no reason to push back. Or tell him he can guarantee the loan if he feels so strongly about the bank!

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