What SBA's own loan files show about lending in the Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA Metro Area, every asset class together, and what a feasibility study for a project there has to test.
965 SBA approvals landed here for projects in the Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA metro area over FY2017 to FY2026, for $388.1 million gross. By loan count, Scranton--Wilkes-Barre ranks 98 of 928 against every other statistical area, Scranton--Wilkes-Barre among them. A typical Scranton--Wilkes-Barre loan is $150,000, with half of all loans among $50,000 and $399,000. The national comparison is plain: since 0.72x is the local Scranton--Wilkes-Barre median against the national median. Typical Scranton--Wilkes-Barre loans are thus below the national level.
The metro area shows 851 loans under 7(a), against 114 under 504. Scranton--Wilkes-Barre is a 7(a) market first. Loans tied to franchise systems make up 6.3%. 166 loans worth $17.8 million put Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company first among 7(a) holders, and PS Bank comes second with 139 loans and $22.8 million. The count for Fidelity Deposit and Discount Bank is 103 loans; Peoples Security Bank and Trust Company has 70. 69 loans and $35.6 million make NEPA Alliance Business Finance Corporation the 504 front-runner, with Northeastern Economic Development Company of PA-CDC, Inc. second at 25 loans. Read the Scranton--Wilkes-Barre lender rows as SBA records of holdings. Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company appears for the Scranton--Wilkes-Barre loans SBA assigns to it; it is no judgment of policy at PS Bank or elsewhere.
The larger share of the Scranton--Wilkes-Barre record falls outside the class table: 702 loans that carry codes outside the table. Across Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, the Scranton--Wilkes-Barre class rows therefore describe a minority of Scranton--Wilkes-Barre lending. Full-service restaurant is the biggest tracked class, at 82 loans, ahead of hotel and motel at 24 and limited-service restaurant with 23. Smaller classes follow, among them child care center at 19 loans and beauty salon at 17. By county, Lackawanna County, PA accounts for 474 loans and then Luzerne County, PA at 419, with Wyoming County, PA third at 72. The Scranton--Wilkes-Barre figure may hide differences between these counties.
Looking at FY2017 to FY2024 approvals, Scranton--Wilkes-Barre cancellations came to at least 9.3%; counting Scranton--Wilkes-Barre loans still undisbursed as cancelled lifts the upper bound to 10.5%. Charge-offs to date are at least 4.8% for the FY2017 to FY2021 disbursed Scranton--Wilkes-Barre cohort of 354 loans; within five years of approval the Scranton--Wilkes-Barre rate was 2.0%. Seasoning continues, so these rates are minimums and can only rise. Volume crested in FY2025, at 142 loans and $58.7 million; the thinnest Scranton--Wilkes-Barre year before FY2026 was FY2020, with 70 loans for $36.7 million. A loan joins the Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA figures through its project county, as with Lackawanna County, PA or Luzerne County, PA, the 2023 Scranton--Wilkes-Barre map of statistical areas sets the border, though a county with no name match adds nothing to Scranton--Wilkes-Barre.
In Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, a study should be constructed for the project's own county, as no single market rests behind the total. Since full-service restaurant leads the Scranton--Wilkes-Barre class table, expect scrutiny of what prime cost leaves for debt, plus liquor licence timing and cost and the lease term against payback. Projects in hotel and motel here should test seasonality of occupancy through the year and the mix of corporate and leisure demand. Debt service coverage in Scranton--Wilkes-Barre must hold in a soft year; the collateral value needs local support under it. Since Scranton--Wilkes-Barre loans skew small, a larger request will draw questions the analysis should answer first.
| Loans approved, FY2017 to FY2026 | 965 |
|---|---|
| Gross dollars approved | $388.1 million |
| Median loan | $150,000 |
| Middle half of loans, from | $50,000 |
| Middle half of loans, to | $399,000 |
| SBA 7(a) loans | 851 |
| SBA 504 loans | 114 |
| Franchise share of loans | 6.3% |
| Rank among metro and micro areas by loans | 98 of 928 |
| Median loan against the national median | 0.72x |
| Cancelled after approval, FY2017 to FY2024 approvals (a floor) | 9.3% |
|---|---|
| The same, counting loans still undisbursed as cancelled (a ceiling) | 10.5% |
| Charged off to date, FY2017 to FY2021 disbursed loans (a floor) | 4.8% |
| Charged off within five years of approval | 2.0% |
| Loans in that cohort | 354 |
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 Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA Metro Area, by fiscal year
| Fiscal year | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| FY2017 | 74 | $18.9 million |
| FY2018 | 83 | $38.6 million |
| FY2019 | 77 | $23.1 million |
| FY2020 | 70 | $36.7 million |
| FY2021 | 92 | $44.3 million |
| FY2022 | 91 | $40.6 million |
| FY2023 | 93 | $30.2 million |
| FY2024 | 127 | $39.3 million |
| FY2025 | 142 | $58.7 million |
| FY2026 | 116 | $57.7 million |
| Asset class | Loans |
|---|---|
| Not in any of the 39 asset classes | 702 |
| Full-service restaurant | 82 |
| Hotel and motel | 24 |
| Limited-service restaurant | 23 |
| Child care center | 19 |
| Beauty salon | 17 |
| Liquor store | 15 |
| Automotive mechanical repair (car and truck) | 12 |
| Gas station and truck stop | 9 |
| Coffee shop and snack bar | 8 |
| Caterers (includes banquet halls with catering staff) | 7 |
| Fitness center | 7 |
| Self storage | 6 |
| Medical office (physicians) | 6 |
| Beverage manufacturing (breweries, wineries, distilleries) | 5 |
| Rehabilitation and therapy clinic | 5 |
Classes with 5 or more loans; smaller ones are withheld, and more where a small one could be derived.
| Lender | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| NEPA Alliance Business Finance Corporation | 69 | $35.6 million |
| Northeastern Economic Development Company of PA-CDC, Inc. | 25 | $16.9 million |
| Empire State Certified Development Corporation | 13 | $17.1 million |
| Lender | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company | 166 | $17.8 million |
| PS Bank | 139 | $22.8 million |
| Fidelity Deposit and Discount Bank | 103 | $27.4 million |
| Peoples Security Bank and Trust Company | 70 | $25.4 million |
| NEPA Alliance Business Finance Corporation | 39 | $5.9 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 |
|---|---|
| Lackawanna County, PA | 474 |
| Luzerne County, PA | 419 |
| Wyoming County, PA | 72 |
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-42540.
A worked example of the feasibility study a lender would read for a gas station project in Pennsylvania, financed with a USDA Business and Industry guaranteed loan.
Loan Analytics prepares the feasibility study a lender reads before it commits: for a commercial project in the Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA 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.
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