What SBA's own loan files show about lending in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC Metro Area, every asset class together, and what a feasibility study for a project there has to test.
Among metro and micro areas, Charlotte ranks 31 of 928 by loans, with 4,650 approvals over FY2017 to FY2026 and $3.19 billion gross. The Charlotte median of $320,000 is 1.54x the national figure, and half of loans span $123,625 to $795,000. That wide band shows how varied the borrowers are, so no single loan size is typical.
By program, the area holds 4,348 SBA 7(a) loans beside 302 SBA 504 loans. Franchised businesses make up 22.7% of loans. In Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC, the classes rank full-service restaurant with 182, limited-service restaurant with 169 and fitness center with 140. A total of 3,272 loans belong to no tracked class, and the 4,650 total counts them. Project locations concentrate in Mecklenburg County, NC with 2,413, York County, SC with 477 and Union County, NC with 434. A state line crosses the area, so a study should name the state behind each input.
The lenders listed come from agency records of loans that a lender holds or held with the lender as current holder, which makes the list a portfolio view and nothing more. Leading SBA 7(a) holders are Wells Fargo Bank National Association with 404 loans worth $85.6 million, The Huntington National Bank with 269 loans worth $112.2 million and Live Oak Banking Company with 265 loans worth $357.6 million. Under SBA 504 the largest holders are Business Expansion Funding Corporation with 208 loans worth $237.4 million, Carolina Business Capital, Inc. with 47 loans worth $60.9 million and Catawba Regional Development Corporation with 16 loans worth $17.1 million. The top holder leads the rest, but a borrower may still approach any lender.
The cancellation floor is 10.4% of FY2017 to FY2024 approvals. Counting loans that never funded as cancelled, the ceiling rises to 11.8%. SBA shows 6.3% charged off to date, a floor, among 1,787 loans disbursed FY2017 to FY2021, and 3.6% came within five years. Approvals peaked in FY2025, at 748 loans. The area rests on each project's county name, matched against the July 2023 delineation, so any loan whose county is unplaceable appears in no area. The 4,650 total includes loans in no named class.
A Charlotte study opens with demand. Judge the draw of the exact parcel rather than the whole region, and stress year one. Cost is the second test. Borrowers see a $320,000 median, but the budget needs local bids, with every fee and reserve listed line by line. Coverage of debt service is the hinge. Report coverage on the proposed loan and again on weaker revenue, saying how far revenue can fall. An independent appraisal comes last, so every income assumption should be verifiable. The 4,650 loans spread over many neighbourhoods, and a study must say which one it targets. Because the median runs 1.54x the national level, a smaller request may draw a question as well. The study should explain its sizing against $320,000.
| Loans approved, FY2017 to FY2026 | 4,650 |
|---|---|
| Gross dollars approved | $3.19 billion |
| Median loan | $320,000 |
| Middle half of loans, from | $123,625 |
| Middle half of loans, to | $795,000 |
| SBA 7(a) loans | 4,348 |
| SBA 504 loans | 302 |
| Franchise share of loans | 22.7% |
| Rank among metro and micro areas by loans | 31 of 928 |
| Median loan against the national median | 1.54x |
| Cancelled after approval, FY2017 to FY2024 approvals (a floor) | 10.4% |
|---|---|
| The same, counting loans still undisbursed as cancelled (a ceiling) | 11.8% |
| Charged off to date, FY2017 to FY2021 disbursed loans (a floor) | 6.3% |
| Charged off within five years of approval | 3.6% |
| Loans in that cohort | 1,787 |
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 Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC Metro Area, by fiscal year
| Fiscal year | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| FY2017 | 435 | $284.5 million |
| FY2018 | 461 | $294.5 million |
| FY2019 | 404 | $241.1 million |
| FY2020 | 322 | $253.7 million |
| FY2021 | 375 | $343.2 million |
| FY2022 | 349 | $259.5 million |
| FY2023 | 464 | $303.5 million |
| FY2024 | 547 | $329.2 million |
| FY2025 | 748 | $474.5 million |
| FY2026 | 545 | $409.8 million |
| Asset class | Loans |
|---|---|
| Not in any of the 39 asset classes | 3,272 |
| Full-service restaurant | 182 |
| Limited-service restaurant | 169 |
| Fitness center | 140 |
| Child care center | 127 |
| Hotel and motel | 116 |
| Coffee shop and snack bar | 91 |
| Automotive mechanical repair (car and truck) | 82 |
| Dental office | 72 |
| Beauty salon | 64 |
| Gas station and truck stop | 44 |
| Medical office (physicians) | 35 |
| Beverage manufacturing (breweries, wineries, distilleries) | 34 |
| Self storage | 32 |
| Rehabilitation and therapy clinic | 29 |
| Grocery store | 27 |
| Veterinary clinic | 24 |
| Car wash | 21 |
| Assisted living (without nursing care) | 15 |
| Caterers (includes banquet halls with catering staff) | 11 |
| Behavioral health and addiction treatment | 10 |
| Data center | 9 |
| Warehouse and distribution | 8 |
| School (elementary and secondary, including charter) | 8 |
| Liquor store | 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Business Expansion Funding Corporation | 208 | $237.4 million |
| Carolina Business Capital, Inc. | 47 | $60.9 million |
| Catawba Regional Development Corporation | 16 | $17.1 million |
| Provident Business Financial Services, Inc. | 10 | $22.9 million |
| 504 Capital Corporation | 7 | $13.1 million |
| Lender | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| Wells Fargo Bank National Association | 404 | $85.6 million |
| The Huntington National Bank | 269 | $112.2 million |
| Live Oak Banking Company | 265 | $357.6 million |
| Pinnacle Bank (TN) | 251 | $275.3 million |
| TD Bank, National Association | 162 | $37.8 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 |
|---|---|
| Mecklenburg County, NC | 2,413 |
| York County, SC | 477 |
| Union County, NC | 434 |
| Cabarrus County, NC | 337 |
| Iredell County, NC | 329 |
| Gaston County, NC | 266 |
| Lancaster County, SC | 143 |
| Lincoln County, NC | 109 |
| Rowan County, NC | 103 |
| Anson County, NC | 21 |
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-16740.
A worked example of the feasibility study a lender would read for a hotel project in North Carolina, financed with a conventional bank loan.
Loan Analytics prepares the feasibility study a lender reads before it commits: for a commercial project in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC 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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