Anyone who represents an applicant or a lender in dealings with SBA for pay: an attorney, accountant, consultant, packager or broker. SBA does not require a borrower to use one.
SBA’s rules treat a broker, a packager and a referral agent as agents, and they set limits that cover every loan. The fee must be reasonable and customary for the work. An agent may bill by the hour, with no set maximum, or by a percentage of the loan. A percentage fee may not exceed 3 percent of a loan of $50,000 or less. On a larger loan it may not exceed 2 percent of the first $1,000,000 plus 0.25 percent of any amount above that, and no percentage fee may exceed $30,000 in all. A fee above $2,500 must be supported by a record of the work done.
SBA does not allow a flat fee charged to every applicant, a fee that is owed only if the loan goes through, or a fee for a service the loan did not reasonably need. A referral agent may be paid by the applicant or by the lender, but not by both. The lender must tell the applicant in writing, before any service is provided, that the applicant does not have to buy services it does not want. Everything is disclosed to SBA on Form 159.
How it shows up in the data here
No broker or agent appears as a record on this site, and the SBA loan files have no field for one. Fees an agent charged are reported to SBA on Form 159 and are not in the public files.
Go further
- When a bank says no: Free help to try before paying a packager.
- Package checklist: SBA 7(a)
- How to read SBA 7(a) and 504 loan data: The SBA publishes the 7(a) and 504 loans it guarantees, lender by lender, every quarter. It is the best public record of who lends to small businesses, and it is easy to misread.
Related terms
- SBA Form 159 (fee disclosure): The form that discloses to SBA any fee paid to an agent such as a packager or broker, and a lender fee above $2,500, with the compensation agreement behind it.
- SBA 7(a) loan: SBA's main business loan program. A lender makes the loan and SBA guarantees part of it: up to 85 percent of $150,000 or less and 75 percent of more, on loans up to $5,000,000.
- SBA 504 loan: A fixed-asset financing in which a bank lends 50 percent or more, a certified development company funds up to 40 percent through an SBA debenture, and the borrower puts in at least 10 percent.
Sources
Plain definitions for orientation, not legal, tax or credit advice. A lender's own policy decides what it will do.