What the Coleman Report Won't Tell You About SBA Lending

Guys, if you work in SBA lending and you don't know what the Coleman Report is, we need to fix that right now. It's the single best public data source on SBA lending activity in the United States — and it's free. But like any data set, it has limits. And the gap between what the numbers show and what's actually happening on the ground is where experienced originators earn their paychecks.

I've been referencing Coleman data for years. It shapes how I think about market trends, lender performance, and where the program is heading. But I also know what it can't tell me. And that's the part most people skip.

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What the Coleman Report Actually Is

The Coleman Report is a quarterly publication produced by Coleman Publishing that tracks SBA 7(a) and 504 lending activity across the country. It aggregates data from the SBA's public loan approval records and organizes it by lender, state, dollar volume, number of loans, average loan size, and industry category.

If you want to know which lenders approved the most SBA 7(a) loans last quarter, the Coleman Report will tell you. If you want to see how total SBA loan volume compares to the same quarter a year ago, it's in there. If you want to know which states had the highest concentration of SBA lending activity, Coleman has that data.

It's the report that lenders, brokers, industry analysts, and SBA officials all reference when they're talking about the health and direction of the program. When you hear someone say "SBA 7(a) lending hit $45 billion in FY2025," they're almost certainly citing Coleman data.

For the full picture of what those volume numbers mean for the market, our SBA Lending 2026 Outlook puts the Coleman data into strategic context.

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What the Numbers Actually Show

Let me walk you through what the raw data reveals, because there are some trends worth paying attention to.

Volume and Count Trends

SBA 7(a) lending volume has been on a multi-year uptrend. Total dollar volume approved has increased steadily, driven by a combination of higher average loan sizes, more lenders participating in the program, and increased SBA policy support. The number of individual loans approved has also been climbing, though at a slightly different rate than dollar volume — which tells you that average deal sizes are getting larger.

This matters. Larger average deal sizes mean more acquisition deals, more commercial real estate components, and more complex transactions flowing through the program. That has implications for originators, borrowers, and lenders alike.

Lender Concentration

The Coleman Report shows a persistent pattern: a relatively small number of lenders originate a disproportionate share of all SBA 7(a) volume. The top 20 lenders typically account for 40% to 50% of total dollar volume. The top 100 cover the majority. There are over 2,000 active SBA lenders, but most of them are doing a handful of deals a year.

Here's the deal. If your borrower submits to one of the smaller-volume lenders, they might get great service or they might be working with a team that only closes a few SBA deals annually. That experience gap shows up in processing time, underwriting questions, and closing speed.

Geographic Distribution

Lending activity isn't evenly distributed. States like California, Texas, Florida, and New York consistently lead in both volume and loan count. Some states have strong SBA ecosystems with dozens of active lenders. Others have limited options. The Coleman Report shows this distribution clearly, and it's useful for originators who are deciding where to focus their marketing and outreach.

Industry Categories

Coleman breaks down lending by NAICS code categories, showing which industries are attracting the most SBA capital. Accommodation and food services, retail trade, healthcare, and professional services consistently rank high. But the mix shifts year over year based on economic conditions, lender appetite, and SBA policy emphasis.

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What Gets Left Out

This is where it gets interesting, and it's the part I spend the most time thinking about.

Deal Quality Is Invisible

The Coleman Report tells you how many loans were approved and for how much. It does not tell you anything about the quality of those deals. A $2 million loan to a well-qualified buyer acquiring a profitable business looks exactly the same in the data as a $2 million loan to a marginal borrower buying an overpriced company that will default in 18 months.

Volume is not quality. And the report doesn't capture approval rates, decline rates, or the percentage of applications that never made it to a credit decision. Those numbers would tell a very different story about the health of the program.

Originator Experience Doesn't Show Up

The Coleman data tracks lenders, not originators. A bank might approve 500 SBA loans in a year, but the report doesn't tell you that 200 of those came through three experienced brokers while the other 300 were submitted by loan officers who each did two or three deals and struggled through each one.

The originator's role in deal quality — structuring the transaction, preparing the package, managing the borrower and seller through the process — is completely invisible in the data. But anyone who works in this space knows that the originator is often the difference between a deal that closes and a deal that dies on the table.

This is why we're so focused on training originators properly. If you're considering entering the field, our guide to becoming an SBA loan broker covers what the Coleman Report can't show you — the actual day-to-day work of getting deals done.

Default Rates Lag

The Coleman Report primarily covers approvals. Default data is available through separate SBA reporting, and it always lags by 12 to 24 months or more. So when lending volume is surging, you won't see the default consequences of that surge until well after the lending cycle has turned.

This is a critical blind spot. A lender could be approving record volume today while the deals they approved two years ago are defaulting at an elevated rate. The Coleman Report won't connect those dots for you.

The Human Stories Are Missing

Numbers don't capture the borrower who refinanced a toxic merchant cash advance into an SBA 7(a) loan and saved their business. They don't capture the veteran who used SBA Veterans Advantage to buy a franchise and now employs 30 people. They don't capture the deal that fell apart because the seller refused to cooperate, or the borrower who got declined six times before finding the right lender.

Those stories are the texture of the SBA program. And they matter as much as the aggregate data — maybe more — when you're trying to understand how the program actually functions at the ground level.

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My Interpretation vs. the Raw Data

When I look at the Coleman Report, I'm not just reading numbers. I'm reading them against what I'm seeing in real transactions every week. And sometimes those two pictures don't match.

When the report shows rising volume, I ask: is that because more qualified borrowers are getting funded, or because lenders are loosening their credit standards to chase volume? When average deal sizes increase, I ask: is that because bigger businesses are entering the SBA program, or because valuations are getting inflated and purchase prices are climbing faster than earnings justify?

When a lender jumps 20 spots on the top lender rankings, I ask: did they hire a great team, or did they acquire another lender's SBA portfolio? When a geographic region shows a sudden spike in activity, I ask: is that organic demand, or did a new lender enter the market and start marketing aggressively?

The data answers the "what." Experience answers the "why." And the "why" is what matters when you're making decisions about where to send your deals, which lenders to partner with, and how to advise your borrowers.

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How to Use the Report as an Originator

If you're an active SBA originator, the Coleman Report should be part of your regular reading. Here's how to get the most out of it:

Track your lender partners. Are the lenders you work with growing or shrinking their SBA volume? A lender that's scaling back might be tightening credit standards or reducing staff — both of which affect your deals. A lender that's growing might be actively looking for new originator relationships.

Identify new lender opportunities. If a lender you've never worked with jumps into the top 50, that's worth a phone call. They're clearly investing in SBA, and they might be looking for quality deal flow.

Understand market trends. If lending volume in your state or industry is declining while the national trend is up, that's a signal worth investigating. Is it a local economic issue, a lender pullback, or something else?

Use the data in client conversations. When you're sitting across from a borrower who thinks SBA lending is some obscure, risky program, showing them that $45 billion in 7(a) loans were approved last year changes the conversation. Data builds credibility.

Compare against your own pipeline. If the Coleman Report shows that the average SBA 7(a) loan size is $500,000 but your average deal is $150,000, that tells you something about your market positioning. If your average is $1.5 million, you're playing at the top of the market and should be working with the lenders who operate there.

Our Complete Guide to SBA 7(a) Loans provides the program knowledge you need to contextualize what the Coleman numbers are telling you.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Where can I access the Coleman Report?

The Coleman Report is available through Coleman Publishing. Some versions are free; more detailed reports are subscription-based. The SBA also publishes its own loan data on sba.gov, which can be cross-referenced against Coleman's analysis.

How often is the Coleman Report published?

Quarterly, with an annual summary. Each edition covers the most recent quarter's SBA lending activity and compares it to prior periods.

Does the Coleman Report cover SBA 504 loans too?

Yes. It tracks both 7(a) and 504 program activity, though the 7(a) data tends to get more attention because it represents the larger share of SBA lending volume.

Can I see individual loan details in the Coleman Report?

No. The report aggregates data by lender, state, and industry category. Individual loan details are not disclosed. However, the SBA publishes some loan-level data through its FOIA releases, which researchers and analysts use for deeper analysis.

Is the Coleman Report useful for borrowers?

Not directly, but indirectly it can help a borrower (or their originator) identify which lenders are most active in SBA lending and which geographic or industry markets have the most lending activity. That information can inform lender selection.

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Want to Turn Market Data Into Closed Deals?

Reading the Coleman Report is a good start. Knowing what to do with those numbers — which lenders to target, how to position your deal flow, where the volume is moving — that's what separates producers from spectators. Our training covers exactly that.

Explore training options at learn.lordsoflending.com/pricing

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The Numbers Matter — But They're Not the Whole Story

The Coleman Report is essential reading for anyone serious about SBA lending. It gives you the macro view of where the program is, where it's trending, and who the major players are. But it's a spreadsheet, not a story.

The story lives in the deals that close and the deals that don't. In the originators who structure transactions that work and the ones who submit packages that fall apart. In the borrowers who build businesses with SBA capital and the ones who struggle under debt they weren't ready for.

Use the data. But don't mistake it for the full picture. The full picture requires being in the market, working the deals, and paying attention to what the numbers can't show you.

For the forward-looking view of where SBA lending is heading — AI underwriting, fintech disruption, and the policy shifts that are reshaping deal flow — our article on the future of SBA lending covers what's real, what's overblown, and what will always require a human.

The Coleman data showed record purchase rates trending upward in 2025. For the full breakdown of what that means for originators and borrowers in the current cycle, Episode 17: 2025 Lessons and Reflections puts those numbers in context with real stories from the field.

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This content is for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal, financial, or investment advice. Consult with a qualified attorney, CPA, and financial advisor before making business or financing decisions. Loan terms, rates, and programs are subject to change and vary by lender.