The useful question to ask of an approval database is whether a lender has financed deals like yours before. Start with the business location and industry, then use approval sizes and sample counts to decide which lenders warrant a conversation.
1. Describe the business before searching
Write down where the business operates, what it actually sells and the rough loan amount you expect to discuss. Industry categories describe the business, and similar-sounding companies may appear under different labels. For example, full-service restaurants and limited-service restaurants are separate profiles. If a target sits between categories, search both and keep a note of which profile you used.
2. Check the state and industry together
Open the explorer and select the state and industry. The local profile ranks lenders by recorded approvals in that slice. Check the number of observations before reading too much into the order. Where no local profile is published, the state and national industry profiles give you two broader views.
For example, the September 2026 snapshot recorded 143 full-service restaurant approvals in California, with a median loan of $455,000. Hanmi Bank appeared 17 times. For a buyer considering a similar business, that count is a concrete reason to ask the bank about recent deals. It gives no estimate of whether a particular application would be approved.
3. Give each lender the same summary
Use a short, consistent description of the target business, its operating location, the purchase price and the loan amount you are exploring. Keep confidential seller materials for a secure channel. Ask each lender whether it currently works in the industry, what it would need for an initial review, how it estimates the timeline and who handles the file after the first call.
4. Compare the responses on the same terms
| Question | What to record |
|---|---|
| Has the team handled a comparable deal? | A recent example and how it resembles your target. |
| What is included in the loan amount? | Purchase funding and any other costs the lender expects to include. |
| How would the rate be set? | Whether it is fixed or variable, and any assumptions in the quote. |
| What happens next? | Required information, who reviews it and the next decision point. |
For program rules and the application process, use the SBA’s official 7(a) guide. For the meaning of the index’s loan, rate and term figures, see the methodology.