Small businesses across Ohio and the nation are seeing fewer loans approved through the U.S. Small Business Administration this year, as lending activity has cooled from the record pace set in 2025.

Through June, lenders had approved roughly 27,000 SBA loans nationally, compared with more than 33,000 during the same period last year — a decline of about 18 percent, according to an analysis by The Business Journals. The decline comes after the SBA guaranteed a record volume of lending in fiscal year 2025.

The SBA's flagship 7(a) program helps participating lenders provide financing to small businesses for purposes including working capital, equipment, real estate and business expansion. The agency also operates the 504 program, which provides longer-term financing for major fixed assets. 

In fiscal 2025, the SBA reported guaranteeing about 84,400 7(a) and 504 loans totaling $44.8 billion. The agency's subsequent annual report rounded that figure to approximately 85,000 loans and $45 billion, calling it a record year.

Ohio has followed the broader pattern. State-level SBA data show 3,465 7(a) and 504 loans totaling about $1.4 billion in fiscal 2025. Data through the first part of fiscal 2026 show substantially fewer approvals so far, although the 2026 fiscal year remains incomplete…… READ MORE…