Feasibility Study Data for the Fresno, CA Metro Area

Gas stations first, and low charge-offs after high cancellations

Fresno ranks 67 of 928 by loan count, with 1,586 approvals and $1.19 billion across FY2017 to FY2026. Unusually, the largest named class is gas station and truck stop at 99 loans, with limited-service restaurant on 68 and full-service restaurant on 53; in most metros restaurants lead. Loans are on the larger side: the $350,000 median is 1.68x the country's, and half of all loans land between $150,000 and $899,225. Franchise brands account for 13.9% of loans, and 7(a) carries 1,317 against 269 under 504.

Fresno County, CA holds 1,400 loans and Madera County, CA 186. A further 1,056 loans lie outside the tracked classes. Medical office has 41, dental office 37, hotel and motel 34, liquor store 28 and fitness center 23. Assisted living shows 10 loans and grocery store 20. For a class outside this list, not named above, the local lending record gives little direct precedent.

Holders named by SBA

The names reflect SBA's holder field: they say who holds or held a loan, not how a lender thinks. FFB Bank holds 189 7(a) loans worth $122.5 million, Wells Fargo Bank National Association 109, Celtic Bank Corporation 99 worth $131.0 million, U.S. Bank, National Association 59 and Community West Bank 52. Celtic Bank Corporation's dollars per loan are among the highest in the list. On the 504 side, Cen Cal Business Finance Group is holder of 190 loans worth $151.4 million, with The Mortgage Capital Development Corporation a distant second at 16.

Cancellation after approval is at least 13.2% of approvals through FY2024 and 14.1% counting undisbursed loans, well above the charge-off floors, which are low: 3.1% to date and 1.5% within five years, across 686 funded loans from FY2017 to FY2021 approvals. A borrower here is more likely to see a deal fall away before funding than to see one fail afterward, though open loans may still add to the charge-off floors. Approvals fell to 124 loans in FY2020 and reached 211 loans and $150.1 million in FY2025.

What a Fresno study must show

The work should test demand particular to the site and corridor, especially for traffic-dependent uses such as the fuel and convenience loans common here, and should price cost against the larger loan sizes. Debt service coverage must withstand the cancellation risk before funding and the later charge-off floors, with the appraisal supporting the assumed value. Counties come from the 2023 delineation; any loan it cannot place is missing here. Nothing on this page is a commitment of any kind.