What SBA's own loan files show about lending in the Winston-Salem, NC Metro Area, every asset class together, and what a feasibility study for a project there has to test.
Winston-Salem differs from the restaurant-led pattern: hotel and motel is its top named class, with 37 loans, ahead of limited-service restaurant at 27, automotive mechanical repair at 17, and fitness center and full-service restaurant at 15 each. Another 423 loans sit outside the named classes. The area holds 604 SBA approvals for FY2017 to FY2026 and $449.0 million gross, rank 151 of 928; program counts are 568 for 7(a) and 36 for 504. Brands hold 21.2% of loans, a high share that fits a hotel-led record, since flags bring brand standards and improvement plans.
Winston has a median loan of $289,500. Winston stands at 1.39x the national figure; in Winston, half of loans run $116,725 to $959,000. Forsyth County carries 385 loans, Davidson County 134 and Stokes County 31. Count was 62 loans and $36.6 million in FY2017, fell to 40 loans and $19.6 million in FY2019, peaked at 100 loans and $78.2 million in FY2025 and ended at 78 loans and $56.5 million in FY2026.
Wells Fargo Bank National Association, with 59 loans and $10.6 million, heads 7(a); Live Oak Banking Company has 38 loans and $56.6 million, and Pinnacle Bank (TN) 36 loans and $42.4 million, so a few loans carry large dollars. Under 504, Business Expansion Funding Corporation holds 25 loans and $28.4 million. Winston lists name holders from SBA's records. Winston holders hold or held those loans. Winston volume is no verdict on lender practice. Winston counts promise no requirement.
Winston cancellations after approval reached at least 8.7%. Winston approvals span FY2017 to FY2024. Winston reaches 10.1% when undisbursed loans count. In Winston, 234 funded loans show charge-offs. Winston floors them at 6.0% or more. Winston has 2.6% within five years. Every Winston rate here is a floor, as open Winston loans may move it. Winston follows county placement. Winston matches each project's county by name. Winston then applies the July 2023 delineation. Winston leaves out loans with unplaceable counties, and Winston counts all approvals, named or not. A hotel study here must test seasonal occupancy and rate, any brand improvement plan and an appraisal built on income rather than construction cost, before running debt service in a weak year. Daniel Smith, MAI, names each Winston study. Winston studies are prepared by Loan Analytics.
| Loans approved, FY2017 to FY2026 | 604 |
|---|---|
| Gross dollars approved | $449.0 million |
| Median loan | $289,500 |
| Middle half of loans, from | $116,725 |
| Middle half of loans, to | $959,000 |
| SBA 7(a) loans | 568 |
| SBA 504 loans | 36 |
| Franchise share of loans | 21.2% |
| Rank among metro and micro areas by loans | 151 of 928 |
| Median loan against the national median | 1.39x |
| Cancelled after approval, FY2017 to FY2024 approvals (a floor) | 8.7% |
|---|---|
| The same, counting loans still undisbursed as cancelled (a ceiling) | 10.1% |
| Charged off to date, FY2017 to FY2021 disbursed loans (a floor) | 6.0% |
| Charged off within five years of approval | 2.6% |
| Loans in that cohort | 234 |
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 Winston-Salem, NC Metro Area, by fiscal year
| Fiscal year | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| FY2017 | 62 | $36.6 million |
| FY2018 | 61 | $30.1 million |
| FY2019 | 40 | $19.6 million |
| FY2020 | 46 | $51.4 million |
| FY2021 | 50 | $56.8 million |
| FY2022 | 44 | $31.1 million |
| FY2023 | 50 | $41.5 million |
| FY2024 | 73 | $47.4 million |
| FY2025 | 100 | $78.2 million |
| FY2026 | 78 | $56.5 million |
| Asset class | Loans |
|---|---|
| Not in any of the 39 asset classes | 423 |
| Hotel and motel | 37 |
| Limited-service restaurant | 27 |
| Automotive mechanical repair (car and truck) | 17 |
| Fitness center | 15 |
| Full-service restaurant | 15 |
| Gas station and truck stop | 9 |
| Self storage | 9 |
| Child care center | 7 |
| Beauty salon | 6 |
| Coffee shop and snack bar | 6 |
| Assisted living (without nursing care) | 5 |
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 | 25 | $28.4 million |
| Lender | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| Wells Fargo Bank National Association | 59 | $10.6 million |
| Live Oak Banking Company | 38 | $56.6 million |
| Pinnacle Bank (TN) | 36 | $42.4 million |
| First Community Bank (VA) | 27 | $8.3 million |
| Northeast Bank (ME) | 25 | $2.5 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 |
|---|---|
| Forsyth County, NC | 385 |
| Davidson County, NC | 134 |
| Stokes County, NC | 31 |
| Davie County, NC | 27 |
| Yadkin County, NC | 27 |
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-49180.
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 Winston-Salem, NC 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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