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Pursuit loans in New York City: SmartLoan, SBA microloan and state fund terms
By Solomon Wiesen, editor. Updated October 2026. Editorial standards | How this site is funded
Pursuit is a small business lender based in Latham, New York, founded in 1955 as New York Business Development Corporation, that lends in New York and five other states. Its SmartLoan runs $10,000 to $100,000 at a fixed rate capped at 11.9%, its SBA microloan goes up to $50,000 at no more than 9.125%, and it is the lender for the state’s Main Street Capital Loan Fund at 9.90%. The published screens point to established businesses: a 640 personal credit score, break-even or positive cash flow, and no open tax liens or judgments.
Pursuit’s loan rates by product
Published rates for the loans Pursuit makes or administers in New York, October 2026.
What Pursuit lends, and at what price
Figures below come from Pursuit’s product pages and, for the city fund, from the city’s program page, as of October 2026.
| Product | Size | Rate | Term | Fees | Main requirements |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SmartLoan | $10,000 to $100,000 | Fixed, capped at 11.9% | Up to 6 years | 5% commitment fee, financed into the loan; no prepayment penalty | 640 score, break-even cash flow, no open tax liens or judgments, no bankruptcy in 7 years |
| SBA microloan | Up to $50,000 | Maximum 9.125% | 6 years | 3% commitment fee, financed; no prepayment penalty | Same screens as the SmartLoan |
| Main Street Capital Loan Fund | $10,000 to $100,000 | 9.90% fixed; year one interest-only at 7.75% | Up to 6 years | 2% closing fee, or $500 under $25,000 | New York business under 4 years old, 640 average score for 20% owners, equity of 10% of project cost |
| SBA 7(a) | $50,000 to $5 million; Community Advantage up to $350,000 | Variable; not published | Up to 10 years, 25 for real estate | Not published | For-profit, within SBA size standards, no debt owed to the federal government |
| NYC Future Fund | $25,000 to $500,000 | 7.5% | Up to 5 years | 3% origination fee | 12 months in business, $50,000 in revenue |
The SmartLoan and microloan pages also exclude money-service businesses and passive real estate holders, and bar using the money for back taxes or for settling lawsuits, fines or penalties. Debt refinancing is an allowed use. Pursuit publishes no Future Fund page of its own, so the terms in that row are the city’s.
Speed and paperwork
On the SmartLoan and microloan, Pursuit says you get a decision within two business days of a complete application and funding within five business days of approval. The Main Street fund is slower, with applications evaluated in 2 to 4 weeks, and SBA 7(a) approvals take 30 to 45 days.
Only the Main Street page lists documents. For each 20% owner: a resume, photo ID, a personal financial statement, two years of personal tax returns and two months of personal bank statements. For the business: two years of tax returns if it has them, interim financials no older than 120 days, a debt schedule and two months of bank statements. Businesses under two years old add a business plan and two years of projections. The SmartLoan page refers to “all required documentation” without naming it.
Programs it delivers
- Main Street Capital Loan Fund: Empire State Development’s $10 million fund, run “in partnership with Pursuit,” for New York businesses under four years old with 100 or fewer full-time employees and revenue under $5 million.
- NYC Future Fund: the city lists Pursuit as one of four lenders, with Community Reinvestment Fund, Accompany Capital and Grow America. Our Future Fund guide has the repayment rules.
- Small Business Revolving Loan Fund, Round 2: the state’s lender list as of May 15, 2026 includes “NYBDC (dba Pursuit Lending)” and “NYBDC Local Development Corporation (dba Pursuit Lending).”
- SBA microloans, SBA 7(a) and Community Advantage, per Pursuit’s product pages. Its home page says it is approved under the SBA’s Preferred Lenders Program and SBA Express.
Its SBA 7(a) record in New York City
Pursuit’s about page says it was formerly New York Business Development Corporation, and the state list above uses “NYBDC” for both Pursuit entities, so the two names in the SBA file are counted together here. In our analysis of SBA loan data (7(a) approvals in the five boroughs, October 2019 to June 2026), they made 29 loans. New York Business Development Corporation made 21, with a median of $500,000. NYBDC Local Development Corporation dba Pursuit Community Finance made 8, with a median of $181,000, six of them Community Advantage loans. Eleven of the 29 came in fiscal 2024 or later. By borough: 13 in Manhattan, 12 in Brooklyn, 4 in Queens, none in the Bronx or on Staten Island. For scale, TD Bank made 2,092 city loans in the same file.
Where it has people
Pursuit’s contact page lists a New York City office at WeWork, 450 Lexington Avenue, alongside offices in Latham, Buffalo, Melville and Rochester. It lends in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Delaware and Illinois. No borough-level service area is published.
When Pursuit fits, and when another lender does
- Pursuit fits if your score is 640 or higher, cash flow is at least break-even, and you need $10,000 to $100,000 within about seven business days of a complete application.
- If the business is in New York and under four years old, the Main Street fund’s 7.75% interest-only first year is cheaper in year one than the SmartLoan cap.
- Below 640, or with a bankruptcy in the past seven years, you miss Pursuit’s automatic-approval screens, though it still invites an application. Accompany Capital sets no minimum score for its loans up to $75,000 and looks back 24 months on bankruptcy.
- Under $15,000 with no credit history, Kiva lends $1,000 to $15,000 at 0%, though it will not refinance debt.
- Above $100,000, Pursuit’s own option is SBA 7(a), with no published rate, so compare it against bank 7(a) offers: in our SBA data, city loans of $150,001 to $350,000 carried a median starting rate of 10.55% in fiscal 2024 through June 2026, and loans of $350,001 to $1 million 10.25%. The other city and state lenders are in our NYC small business loans table.
Against a merchant cash advance
A $50,000 SmartLoan at the 11.9% cap, with the 5% fee financed and repaid over six years, works out to about 13.8% APR by our arithmetic, or about 15.3% if repaid over three years. A $50,000 advance at a 1.40 factor rate, repaid by debits every business day, runs about 71% APR over twelve months and 142% over six. Pursuit’s screens are the hurdle for owners already in an advance: an open judgment or tax lien fails the automatic-approval test, and SmartLoan money cannot pay a lawsuit settlement, though it can refinance debt. The MCA vs. loan calculator will price your own offer against a loan.
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