First Merchants Bank: SBA Lending Record

First Merchants Bank and its SBA holdings

SBA's public file shows First Merchants Bank as the present or last holder of 1,511 loans approved in FY2017 to FY2026, totalling $1.13 billion. Program by program, 7(a) carries 1,511 loans and 504 carries 0. The page reports holdings only and does not describe the bank's lending approach, which no figure here covers.

The class counts

1,086 loans are outside the asset classes. Full-service restaurant is the largest classed group at 71 loans and limited-service restaurant has 68. Automotive mechanical repair (car and truck) has 41, coffee shop and snack bar 35, fitness center 33 and beauty salon 27. The counts are small, so they show presence rather than concentration. A borrower in coffee, beauty or automotive repair can see that the holder carries such loans, but a handful of loans across a long period is a thin base for any conclusion, and the study has to supply the real test of the project.

Indiana tops the state list

Indiana accounts for 313 loans, more than any other state in the list. Michigan has 162, California 118, Florida 112 and Texas 109. Illinois has 94 and Ohio 89. A borrower in Indiana or a neighbouring state will see the holder named frequently; elsewhere the counts thin out. Volume in a state is a fact about the file and not about the market, so the study of the site comes first.

What the rates show

A share of 16.2% of FY2017 to FY2024 approvals was cancelled, a floor; Loan Analytics withholds the matching ceiling, so none is printed. Of 699 loans disbursed in FY2017 to FY2021, 4.9% carry a charge-off so far (a floor), and inside the first five years after approval the share is 2.1%. Seasoning continues, so those floors may rise, and the rates blend all trades.

Where a study fits

The holder's record is a map of its file. A feasibility study is the borrower's own evidence: demand for the property in its trade area, a cost estimate, debt service coverage under pressure and an appraisal. Bringing that evidence to the table is more persuasive than a count of loans, and no page of statistics guarantees approval.