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SBA Loans

Eastern Bank understands how vital small businesses are to helping our local economy grow and flourish. We also know that securing capital is one of the biggest challenges for early-stage businesses. To help them, we’ve partnered with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) to offer SBA loans.

Our commitment to SBA lending has helped us earn the distinction as the #1 SBA lender in Massachusetts for the eighteenth consecutive year.

a contractor posing in front of his building project

Eastern Bank is the #1 SBA Lender in Massachusetts!

Learn more about our commitment to Small Business. 

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To help businesses that may not qualify for conventional loans get the funds they need to start, grow and expand, we offer government-guaranteed Small Business Administration (SBA) loans.  Our experience with processing and servicing SBA-guaranteed loans has earned us the designation as a preferred lender, allowing us to speed up the loan approval process significantly.

These refer to government-guaranteed loans offered through the Small Business Administration. Credit is subject to approval. Other restrictions may apply.

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Why SBA

Credit is essential in helping small and mid-sized businesses through changing business cycles. To help make credit available to newer, less established businesses that may not qualify for conventional loans, the Small Business Administration offers government-guaranteed SBA loans.

As a SBA preferred lender, Eastern Bank works closely with the agency and its government loan guarantee programs to offer an array of SBA loans to our customers. So whether you are looking for a line of credit to purchase inventory, a term loan to support capital expansion or a real estate loan to buy a building, Eastern Bank has a SBA loan to meet your needs.

Fill out the form below to contact an SBA specialist and see if this program or another is the best fit for your business needs.

Benefits of SBA Loans

Terms

  • Working capital: Up to 10 years
  • Equipment: Up to 10 years (or useful life)
  • Business Acquisitions: up to 10 years

Interest Rates

Can be fixed or variable

  • Loans of $50,000 and less: Prime rate + 6.5%;
  • Loans of $50,001 up to and including $250,000: Prime rate + 6%;
  • Loans of $250,001 up to and including $350,000: Prime rate + 4.5%;
  • Loans of $350,001 and higher: Prime rate + 3%

SBA Guarantee Fees

  • For loans of $150,000 or less: 2.00% of the guaranteed portion of the loan
  • For loans of $150,001 to $700,000: 3% of the guaranteed portion of the loan
  • For loans of $700,001 to $5,000,000 3.5% of the guaranteed portion of the loan up to and including $1,000,000, plus 3.75% of the guaranteed portion of the loan over $1,000,000

Financing

  • Loans less than or equal to $150,000: SBA provides 85% guarantee
  • Loans greater than $150,000: SBA provides 75% guarantee

Eligibility

Most for-profit businesses, including start-ups on a case-by-case basis, are eligible.

Ineligible Businesses

  • Nonprofits
  • Businesses engaged in lending
  • Passive holders of real estate (generally, the business needs to be “operating,” not an R/E investment)
  • Foreign owned or located companies
  • High risk industry (i.e., pyramid/gambling/speculative/etc.)

Size Guidelines

  • Manufacturing – from 500 to 1,500 employees
  • Wholesale – 100-250 employees 
  • Retail – from $9 million to $47 million average annual receipts
  • General construction – from $19 million to $45 million 

Loan Uses

Loan proceeds can be used for most business purposes, including:

  • Working capital (including Lines of Credit via SBA Express)
  • Machinery and equipment
  • Furniture and fixtures
  • Leasehold improvements and debt refinancing (under special conditions)

Loan maturity is up to 10 years for working capital and equipment financing and generally up to 25 years for fixed assets.

How to Apply

Click here to apply

To encourage business expansion and job creation, we offer the SBA 504 Program. This unique program provides up to 90% long-term, fixed-rate financing for real estate acquisitions, renovations, expansions and equipment to small to midsized businesses.

Features

  • Available for a variety of uses, including the purchase or construction of an existing property or the purchase of land
  • 90% financing (10% down payment)
  • Owner-occupied real estate and equipment
  • Below-market fixed rates
  • Financing available for many SBA related fees/closing costs
  • Eligibility available for most for-profit businesses
  • 25 or 20-year fixed rate on real estate and 10-year fixed rate on equipment (on the SBA second loan)

Eligibility

  • Most for-profit business (corporation, partnership or proprietorship).
  • Operating company must occupy 51% of existing building or 61% with new construction.
  • The net worth of a business must not exceed $20 million dollars and the 2-year average net income after taxes cannot exceed $6.5 million.
  • Equity requirement is 10%. An extra 5% is required for either a start-up business (two years or less) or a single-purpose building (10% additional if both are applicable).

Loan Uses

What the loan can be used for:

  • Purchase or construction of an existing owner-occupied building
  • Modernization, renovation or restoration of a building including leasehold improvements
  • Purchase of equipment with economic useful life of 10 years or more
  • Other attendant soft costs such as accountants, engineers, appraisers, construction period interest
  • Purchase of land
  • 10% contingency on a real estate construction project

Ineligible use of proceeds:

  • Working capital
  • Debt consolidation or repayment
  • Inventory
  • Refinancing (though you may be able to refinance an existing first mortgage of an existing SBA 504 deal)