What SBA's own loan files show about lending in the Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY Metro Area, every asset class together, and what a feasibility study for a project there has to test.
Albany-Schenectady-Troy recorded 1,643 SBA approvals for FY2017 to FY2026, worth $655.3 million gross; it sits 64 of 928 for volume. Median loan: $140,000, only 0.67x the national figure, with Albany's central band running from $50,000 to $350,000. Of the total, 1,450 are 7(a) and 193 are 504. Franchises account for 6.9% of loans, a low share, so independents carry most of the credit. The year-by-year record leans downward: FY2017 was the peak at 241 loans and $68.9 million, FY2020 the low at 97 loans and $49.9 million, and FY2026 closed at 145 loans and $76.6 million.
Full-service restaurant leads the named classes with 125 loans, then limited-service restaurant at 52, fitness center at 34, liquor store at 32 and beauty salon at 31; 1,150 loans lie outside the named classes. The three leading counties are close together: Albany County has 592 loans, Saratoga County 576 and Rensselaer County 242. A study therefore needs to decide which of those county markets it addresses, since Saratoga is nearly as active as Albany itself.
KeyBank National Association holds 165 loans and $48.9 million under 7(a), Beacon Bank and Trust 161 loans and $68.1 million, and The Adirondack Trust Company 157 loans and $14.4 million, a close three-way spread rather than a single leader. No 504 lender is listed for Albany-Schenectady-Troy. Plainly, each Albany name is on this page because SBA records it as holding or having held those notes. That sketches the Albany footprint and makes no statement about how any institution lends.
Albany's cancellation floor is 12.9% on approvals from FY2017 to FY2024, with undisbursed loans pushing it to 14.2%. Its funded cohort of 725 loans reports charge-offs of 6.3% or more, yet only 2.1% came within five years, so most arrived later; open loans can raise both. Albany-Schenectady-Troy is composed from counties placed by the July 2023 delineation, and Albany loans in unplaceable counties fall out. A study here should test demand at the site, honest cost at small-ticket scale, coverage on a weak year and a value opinion based on nearby comparables, and for an Albany restaurant should check sales per seat and occupancy cost in Albany. Daniel Smith, MAI, signs the study.
| Loans approved, FY2017 to FY2026 | 1,643 |
|---|---|
| Gross dollars approved | $655.3 million |
| Median loan | $140,000 |
| Middle half of loans, from | $50,000 |
| Middle half of loans, to | $350,000 |
| SBA 7(a) loans | 1,450 |
| SBA 504 loans | 193 |
| Franchise share of loans | 6.9% |
| Rank among metro and micro areas by loans | 64 of 928 |
| Median loan against the national median | 0.67x |
| Cancelled after approval, FY2017 to FY2024 approvals (a floor) | 12.9% |
|---|---|
| The same, counting loans still undisbursed as cancelled (a ceiling) | 14.2% |
| Charged off to date, FY2017 to FY2021 disbursed loans (a floor) | 6.3% |
| Charged off within five years of approval | 2.1% |
| Loans in that cohort | 725 |
Both rates are floors. SBA withholds the status of open loans, so a loan counts as charged off only once SBA reports it; a rate needs at least 30 loans in its cohort and is otherwise not reported.
SBA loans approved in the Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY Metro Area, by fiscal year
| Fiscal year | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| FY2017 | 241 | $68.9 million |
| FY2018 | 211 | $58.5 million |
| FY2019 | 156 | $45.9 million |
| FY2020 | 97 | $49.9 million |
| FY2021 | 125 | $75.0 million |
| FY2022 | 146 | $65.6 million |
| FY2023 | 156 | $72.2 million |
| FY2024 | 182 | $60.7 million |
| FY2025 | 184 | $82.1 million |
| FY2026 | 145 | $76.6 million |
| Asset class | Loans |
|---|---|
| Not in any of the 39 asset classes | 1,150 |
| Full-service restaurant | 125 |
| Limited-service restaurant | 52 |
| Fitness center | 34 |
| Liquor store | 32 |
| Beauty salon | 31 |
| Hotel and motel | 27 |
| Automotive mechanical repair (car and truck) | 27 |
| Dental office | 20 |
| Child care center | 19 |
| Beverage manufacturing (breweries, wineries, distilleries) | 18 |
| Veterinary clinic | 16 |
| Medical office (physicians) | 16 |
| Gas station and truck stop | 15 |
| Coffee shop and snack bar | 9 |
| Rehabilitation and therapy clinic | 8 |
| Self storage | 7 |
| Caterers (includes banquet halls with catering staff) | 7 |
| Nonresidential lessor (flex, office and retail investor buildings) | 6 |
Classes with 5 or more loans; smaller ones are withheld, and more where a small one could be derived.
| Lender | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| KeyBank National Association | 165 | $48.9 million |
| Beacon Bank and Trust | 161 | $68.1 million |
| The Adirondack Trust Company | 157 | $14.4 million |
| Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company | 141 | $15.6 million |
| TD Bank, National Association | 106 | $14.2 million |
Lenders with 5 or more loans here; a lender with fewer is not listed, and loans SBA or a receiver holds are counted but never listed as a lender.
| County | Loans |
|---|---|
| Albany County, NY | 592 |
| Saratoga County, NY | 576 |
| Rensselaer County, NY | 242 |
| Schenectady County, NY | 204 |
| Schoharie County, NY | 29 |
Counties with 5 or more loans; smaller ones are not listed.
Metro is the CBSA (metropolitan or micropolitan statistical area) of the loan's project county, July 2023 delineation (OMB Bulletin 23-01). The county is matched by name (manifests/ld2/county-cbsa-map.csv); a loan whose county cannot be placed in a 2023 CBSA is left out of every metro.
All assets: every 7(a) and 504 approval in the metro, including those outside the 39 asset classes.
A value marked withheld rests on fewer than 5 loans, or is withheld so that such a figure cannot be derived from other published figures.
Source: U.S. Small Business Administration, 7(a) and 504 loan-level FOIA files (data.sba.gov), as of 2026-09-30; areas from the U.S. Census Bureau CBSA delineation, July 2023 (OMB Bulletin 23-01); Loan Analytics metro cell MT-10580.
A worked example of the feasibility study a lender would read for a short-term rental project in New York, financed with a conventional bank loan.
Loan Analytics prepares the feasibility study a lender reads before it commits: for a commercial project in the Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY Metro Area, financed under SBA 7(a), SBA 504, USDA Business and Industry or a conventional bank loan. Tell us the project and the lender's deadline, and we reply with scope, timeline and fee.
Start with the data.
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