SBA Guaranty Fees being reinstated tomorrow (3/25/25)!?

March 24, 2025

by a searcher from Buena Vista University in Douglas County, CO, USA

We just learned from our SBA Lender, from whom we just received approval for our acquisition loan this week, that the SBA is reinstating Guaranty Fees starting TOMORROW. She is attempting to push our loan into the SBA system for a compliance review before this takes effect, but if not, it will be an extra 2% fee that we definitely were not planning on. That seems absolutely insane to me that they don't need to give any sort of notice to do this. Has anyone else heard this? Our loan is well below the $1 million threshold.

Are there any SBA lenders, brokers, or intermediaries who have more insight on this?

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

The SBA issued the order yesterday. It somewhat caught the market off guard. I am not saying I agree with the change, but the current fees in place were not meant to be permanent. It was used to issue as a temporary "relief" for smaller loans. They want back to the original guarantee fee structure that has been in place for years. The SBA is not required to give notice provisions for basic changes. They have made other ruling changes adjusting interpretations for existing rules over the past couple of years (like the change allowing partial business acquisitions in asset sales that came out in December of###-###-#### without any notice. I am sorry for anyone having to deal with this. Unless you can get your PLP number in process by tonight, the changes in fees will impact any other loans in process.

This really only impacts loans under $1 million. If you had a loan above $1 million, the fees do not change for you.

Reply by a lender
in Stuart, FL, USA

Unfortunately, everyone is in the same boat for this one. That said, the guaranty fees are what makes the entire program work and without them, lending for businesses would probably go back to the stone ages. So while it may be an unwanted surprise, it is good to know that they are attempting to make the guaranty pool healthy again. This is one government program we do not want to go away. It is simply the cost to doing business. I wish you the best with your transaction.

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