The SUMMANTIS Strategic Advisory Team

Lenders run four predictable tests before they say yes. Learn how to run them on your own numbers first — and shape a request that gets the full amount.

On October 1 the SBA stopped letting projections meet the coverage test, and raised the floor to 1.25x on acquisitions and owner buyouts. The same business now carries roughly $172,000 less debt than it did in September. What changed, and how to price around it.

SBA 7(a) approvals fell 33% this year and participating lenders hit a thirty-year low — yet total dollar volume sat on its decade trend. The capital didn't disappear. It concentrated. Here's what actually changed, and the three rules that quietly opened in your favor.