In fiscal year 2025, lenders approved 401 SBA 7(a) loans worth $247.5 million to businesses in Arkansas. Here is where that money went, which institutions approved it, and how big a loan a business like yours actually gets — straight from the SBA's own published records.
The median approval was $248,500, $81,650 above the national median of $166,850. That number matters more than the headline total: it is the size of deal lenders in this state are comfortable writing, and asking for something far outside it is the quiet reason many files stall.
| Loan size | 7(a) loans | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Under $50K | 57 | 14.2% |
| $50K-$150K | 90 | 22.4% |
| $150K-$350K | 88 | 21.9% |
| $350K-$1M | 95 | 23.7% |
| $1M+ | 71 | 17.7% |
39.7% of Arkansas approvals went to new businesses (startups or under two years old), against 29.8% nationally.
Ranked by number of FY2025 approvals to Arkansas businesses. The single most active 7(a) lender in the state was Southern Bancorp Bank with 41 approvals at a median of $255,200 — which tells you exactly the size of deal it wants.
| Lender | Loans in Arkansas | Median size | Total approved |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southern Bancorp Bank | 41 | $255,200 | $23.2 million |
| Northeast Bank | 34 | $122,500 | $5.2 million |
| First Service Bank | 26 | $380,000 | $21.3 million |
| U.S. Bank, National Association | 25 | $25,000 | $1.5 million |
| Arvest Bank | 18 | $248,000 | $5.4 million |
| Newtek Bank, National Association | 18 | $125,500 | $3.8 million |
| First Financial Bank | 16 | $1,127,500 | $21.7 million |
| FNBC Bank | 16 | $230,850 | $9.9 million |
| Live Oak Banking Company | 16 | $897,300 | $20.5 million |
| Readycap Lending, LLC | 16 | $50,000 | $6.8 million |
| The Huntington National Bank | 16 | $348,500 | $15.3 million |
| Bank OZK | 10 | $115,550 | $4.6 million |
Lenders are listed because the SBA publishes them. Inclusion is not a recommendation, an endorsement, or a statement that any of them will approve your file — and Goldspur Capital is not affiliated with any lender named.
The median initial rate recorded at approval was 9.75%, with most loans between 8.0% and 12.24%, and 80.5% written on a variable rate. Historic rates at approval across the year — not a quote, and not what you would be offered today.
| Industry | Loans | Median loan |
|---|---|---|
| Full-Service Restaurants | 25 | $226,600 |
| Chicken Egg Production | 17 | $698,000 |
| Broilers and Other Meat Type Chicken Production | 14 | $1,010,450 |
| Plumbing, Heating, and Air-Conditioning Contractors | 13 | $118,300 |
| Limited-Service Restaurants | 10 | $149,200 |
| Other Personal Care Services | 10 | $386,000 |
| All Other Specialty Trade Contractors | 8 | $171,000 |
| Gasoline Stations with Convenience Stores | 8 | $1,911,600 |
| Logging | 7 | $500,000 |
| Beer, Wine, and Liquor Retailers | 7 | $881,500 |
| County | Loans | Median loan |
|---|---|---|
| Pulaski | 64 | $266,350 |
| Benton | 49 | $311,000 |
| Washington | 31 | $300,000 |
| Saline | 22 | $150,000 |
| Sebastian | 19 | $100,000 |
| Garland | 19 | $150,000 |
| Faulkner | 14 | $419,000 |
| Craighead | 12 | $646,000 |
504 money buys property and heavy equipment, at a long fixed rate, through a Certified Development Company partnered with a bank. Arkansas saw 20 504 approvals worth $15.5 million in FY2025, median $531,000. The most active CDCs:
| CDC | 504 loans | Median size | Total approved |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rural Missouri, Inc. | 17 | $519,000 | $12.5 million |
| Capital Certified Development Corporation | 2 | $1,235,000 | $2.5 million |
| Fiscal year | 7(a) loans approved | Total approved | Median |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2023 | 306 | $199.5 million | $252,500 |
| FY2024 | 286 | $143.9 million | $191,250 |
| FY2025 | 401 | $247.5 million | $248,500 |
| FY2026 (partial) | 217 | $166.5 million | $250,000 |
Three practical readings. First, size your ask to the state's median band — a request that sits where lenders are already active is a materially easier file than one that does not. Second, a decline is a matching problem far more often than a credit problem: the tables above show institutions with completely different appetites operating in the same state in the same year. Third, if your industry is not in the list above, it does not mean no, it means fewer lenders — and that is exactly the situation where going through a partner who knows which desk to call is worth more than another application.
Source: U.S. Small Business Administration, 7(a) and 504 FOIA loan data (data.sba.gov), files as of 30 June 2026, read on 1 September 2026. Figures cover loan APPROVALS, not disbursements, and the files contain no declined applications — so no approval rate can be calculated from them. Fiscal year 2026 is partial (1 October 2025 to 30 June 2026). Aggregated by Goldspur Capital; borrower-level records are not published. State figures are aggregated on the project state of each loan. Program guidelines shown are our lending partners' published minimums as of September 2026 and can change. They are qualification floors, not an offer.
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