Chase SBA loans in New York City: who gets them and at what rate

By Solomon Wiesen, editor. Updated October 2026. Editorial standards | How this site is funded

JPMorgan Chase approved 859 SBA 7(a) loans to New York City businesses from October 2019 through June 2026, second among NYC SBA lenders with 11.3% of all city loans in our analysis of SBA loan data. Its median loan was $152,000, and loans approved since October 2023 started at a median rate of about 12.6%. For a borrower, that points to Chase as a source of SBA Express lines in the $50,000 to $350,000 range for businesses that have been open more than two years.

An established-business lender

The business-age split is the sharpest feature of Chase’s NYC SBA file. Of its 859 loans, 94.4% went to businesses that described themselves as existing or more than two years old. Only 4.3% went to businesses two years old or younger, and 0.8% to startups using the money to open.

Chase’s own requirements point the same way. Its business line of credit page lists annual revenue of at least $100,000, a FICO score of at least 660, and majority ownership and management unchanged for the past two years, and it offers that line ($10,000 to $500,000) to existing Chase for Business customers. The same page says Chase offers “SBA Express lines of credit for amounts up to $500,000,” but it does not say whether those revenue, credit and ownership requirements apply to the SBA version.

Loan sizes and starting rates

Chase’s NYC SBA lending is concentrated in the middle: 70.5% of its loans fall between $50,000 and $350,000. 95.9% went through SBA Express, 80.0% are revolving lines, and 82.1% have variable rates, which leaves about 18% at a fixed rate.

The rate falls as the loan grows, which tracks the SBA’s tiered caps. Under the SBA’s 7(a) terms, variable rates may not exceed the base rate plus 6.5 points on loans of $50,000 or less, plus 6.0 points up to $250,000, plus 4.5 points up to $350,000 and plus 3.0 points above that. With prime at 8.50%, where it stood until September 2024 according to the Federal Reserve’s prime rate series, 15.0% is exactly prime plus 6.5. The middle half of Chase’s recent NYC loans ran from about 10.2% to 13.75%. Prime was 7.00% in early October 2026, so a loan priced the same way today would start lower.

Borough split: Brooklyn 281 loans, Manhattan 271, Queens 217, the Bronx 55 and Staten Island 35. The top industries were professional services (161), construction (137), retail (119), wholesale (82) and health care and child care (73). Annual volume dipped to 28 loans in fiscal 2021, climbed to 242 in fiscal 2024, then fell to 176 in fiscal 2025 and 60 in the first nine months of fiscal 2026.

What Chase publishes, and what it leaves out

Chase’s SBA loans page describes three products and calls Chase an SBA preferred lender:

• SBA 7(a): term loans up to $5 million, with “longer terms and maturities and with less money down”; SBA fees may apply.
• SBA Express lines and loans: term loans and lines of credit up to $500,000, fixed or variable rates.
• SBA 504: up to 90% of project cost or collateral value, terms up to 25 years, an SBA fee on the CDC portion and a possible origination fee on Chase’s portion.

That page does not publish rates, collateral rules, a time-in-business minimum, any Chase account requirement, or application steps. The line of credit page says to start by calling your Business Relationship Manager or visiting a branch.

The SBA fills in some of the gaps. Its loan types page sets SBA Express at up to $500,000 with a 50% guarantee, permits revolving lines with maturities up to 10 years, and requires no collateral at $50,000 or less; above that, the lender follows its own collateral policy. A standard 7(a) goes to $5 million, and 7(a) small loans to $350,000, with an 85% guarantee up to $150,000 and 75% above.

Applying

Chase lists these documents as often needed for a business line: taxpayer ID or Social Security number, the most recent year’s business financials (income statement and balance sheet), articles of incorporation or organization, and business and personal tax returns. On any 7(a) loan, including Express, the lender collects SBA Form 1919 (current version effective March 19, 2025), and the SBA’s personal financial statement is Form 413. If you don’t already bank with Chase, ask at the start whether the SBA Express line requires a Chase for Business account, since the conventional line does.

When Chase is a poor match

Two groups sit outside most of Chase’s NYC SBA lending. Businesses under two years old made up less than 5% of its borrowers. Owners who need $50,000 or less can borrow from Chase, but its recent median on that size was 15.0%, at the top of the SBA range when prime was 8.50%. Both groups can compare lenders by size, borough and industry in the SBA lender finder, or look at the 19 city, state and community lenders in our NYC small business loans table.

Cost next to a merchant cash advance

Chase’s most expensive size group, at a 15.0% median, still costs a fraction of this example: a $50,000 merchant cash advance at a 1.40 factor rate repaid by daily business-day debits runs about 71% APR over twelve months, 95% over nine and 142% over six. The MCA vs loan calculator lets you plug in your own offer.

JPMorgan Chase does not endorse this page; the figures come from our count of the SBA’s public 7(a) loan file, excluding cancelled loans.