September 30, 2026
By Bob Coleman, Publisher
Here is what matters to SBA loan brokers this week.
SOP 50 10 8.1 Starts Thursday
The new SBA SOP takes effect October 1.
For brokers, the biggest changes are in business acquisition lending.
SBA now separates change-of-ownership transactions into four categories: Initial Acquisition, Business Expansion, Owner Buyout, and ESOP/Cooperative transactions.
Initial acquisitions require 1.25x historical debt service coverage. Business expansions require 1.15x. Owner buyouts require 1.25x. Acquisition cash flow generally must be based on historical performance. Post-closing projections cannot simply be used to make an acquisition deal meet the required debt service coverage.
The other major change is the Quality of Earnings requirement.
For certain Initial Acquisition and Business Expansion transactions with a Business Purchase Price of $3 million or more, the lender must obtain an independent Quality of Earnings analysis.
For brokers, that means the lender conversation needs to happen earlier.
Before a buyer spends weeks negotiating a transaction, determine how the lender will classify the deal, whether historical cash flow supports it, and whether a Quality of Earnings report will be required.
Table on Thursday, October 1: What Brokers Need to Know About Quality of Earnings
That makes this week’s NASLB Table on Thursday especially timely.
Our guest is Michael R. Koeppel, CPA, ABV, CFF, CGMA, CITP, CTP, Founder and Managing Director of Lakelet Advisory Group LLC.
Michael has more than 30 years of experience in business valuation, Quality of Earnings, financial due diligence and transaction analysis. His background includes PricewaterhouseCoopers and Citigroup Venture Capital, and he has led 19 mergers and acquisitions.
We are going to keep the conversation focused on what brokers need to know.
What exactly is a Quality of Earnings report?
How is it different from a business valuation?
What information will the accountant need?
How long should the process take?
What happens when normalized earnings come in below the seller’s numbers?
And what should the broker tell the buyer and seller before the process begins?
For larger SBA acquisition transactions, Quality of Earnings is about to become part of the deal process.
NASLB members should understand it before the first transaction hits their desk.
NASLB members will receive a separate email to join the conversation, Thursday, October 1 at noon Eastern.
OIG: SBLC Default Rate 53% Higher
SBA’s Office of Inspector General released its review of Small Business Lending Company performance this month.
The headline number was clear.
OIG reported an SBLC default rate of 14.97%, compared with 9.79% for other SBA lender types.
That is 53% higher.
Early defaults showed an even wider gap: 5.38% for SBLCs compared with 2.62% for other lenders.
But there is an important second part of the story.
Two SBLCs accounted for more than 80% of SBLC defaults and early defaults in the OIG review.
That concentration is an important part of the OIG findings.
OIG also criticized SBA’s oversight of SBLCs, including examination and loan-review practices.
SBA disagreed with significant portions of OIG’s findings and conclusions.
For brokers, the report reinforces something experienced brokers already know.
Know your lender.
Broker Opportunity: 0% Upfront Fee on Certain Loans Up to $700,000
The new fiscal year also brings a sales opportunity.
Beginning October 1, qualifying SBA 7(a) loans of $700,000 or less can carry a 0% upfront guaranty fee for certain grocery, manufacturing and rural businesses.
The underwriting standards did not change.
The credit box did not change.
The sales opportunity did.
A manufacturer buying equipment, a rural business financing expansion, or another qualifying borrower may now face a lower upfront SBA cost.
For brokers, that is a reason to go back through the pipeline.
ON OUR RADAR
The first month under SOP 50 10 8.1 will tell us how lenders actually implement the new acquisition rules.
We will be watching how lenders handle Quality of Earnings reports, how they classify change-of-ownership transactions, and whether credit boxes tighten as lenders adjust to the new requirements.
The written rule is one thing.
How lenders apply it will matter just as much to brokers.
Orlando Early Bird Ends September 30
The early bird registration deadline for the NASLB Winter Summit in Orlando is Wednesday, September 30.
The Summit will be held November 16–17 at the Citrus Club.
This year’s theme is:
Relationships. Reputation. Results.
The agenda is built around the transactions brokers are working on now and the lender relationships required to get those transactions funded.
Topics include what lenders want from brokers, business acquisition deals, construction lending, building a million-dollar SBA brokerage business, financing alternatives beyond SBA, and the state of SBA lending heading into 2027.
The value is the room: lenders, brokers and other SBA professionals working the same transactions.
Early bird registration, $297 for loan brokers and $597 for lenders ends today, September 30.
INSERT ORLANDO PAYMENT LINKS
Register and Join NASLB
Register for the NASLB Winter Summit and learn more about membership at NASLB.org. One of the core NASLB member benefits is the Broker & Lender Table — a twice-monthly Teams call where brokers hear directly from SBA lenders about credit boxes, deal structures, underwriting preferences and the types of transactions they want to fund. Lender members also have access to present at the Table, explain their credit box and connect directly with active SBA brokers.
SBA Loan Broker Membership
Broker members receive access to lender credit-box information, members-only SBA intelligence, training, networking opportunities and NASLB Broker & Lender Table sessions.
The goal is simple: help brokers find the right lender faster, build stronger relationships and get more qualified deals funded.
SBA Lender Membership
Lender members gain direct access to active SBA brokers, opportunities to present their credit box at the Broker & Lender Table, sponsor NASLB events and build relationships with professionals bringing SBA transactions to market.
National Association of SBA Loan Brokers
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