SBA 7(a) Restaurant Feasibility Study in Oregon

Oregon's restaurant loans: cheaper, then cancelled more often

Oregon puts sit-down dining at the head of its 39 classes, though the state is only twenty-second by count of such loans. Across FY2017 to FY2026 the file holds 428 approvals, worth $162.8 million. A median of $151,750 is 0.62x the nationwide 7(a) figure, and the loans nearest the centre cover $40,000 to $473,200. Franchising is 6.1% of loans, so independents lead.

The cancellation signature

What marks the Oregon cell is cancellation: no lower than 16.1% for approvals dated FY2017 to FY2024, and 16.4% when undisbursed loans are added. That is a heavy attrition rate. Charge-offs, in contrast, are comparatively low. Of the 186 loans that funded from FY2017 through FY2021, 4.8% are written off to date and 2.7% were written off inside five years. Taken together, many approved Oregon restaurant loans never reach the borrower, while those that do perform better than loans in several other states. We cannot say from the record why.

Lenders and counties

Columbia Bank has 91 loans and U.S. Bank, National Association 66, a concentration much stronger than elsewhere, then KeyBank National Association with 20, Wells Fargo Bank National Association with 19 and Newtek Bank, National Association with 16. These are SBA's current holders, and the page makes no judgement about their practices. Multnomah County has 138 loans, Washington 71, Marion 31 and Clackamas 28, with Lane at 26 and Deschutes and Jackson at 22 each. The Portland area therefore dominates. Volume dropped to 19 loans in FY2021 and has since recovered to 49 loans in FY2024 and 48 in FY2026.

What an Oregon restaurant study has to test

Because approvals may fail to close, the study should plan for the period between approval and funding: construction or lease timing, permits, and whether the owner can carry the site meanwhile. It must test the trade area, from city neighbourhood to coastal town to Deschutes County, with seasonality built in. A loan near $151,750 will usually fund equipment and fit-out, and the lease term has to be long enough to recover that. The model should show the loan serviced through a soft first season, and the appraisal will test sales and rent for the going concern.