Small business loans in NYC: real lenders, rates and who qualifies

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

Leaving aside Kiva’s 0% crowdfunded loans of up to $15,000, the lowest published rates on a small business loan in New York City as of October 2026 are up to 3% fixed on the city’s Contract Financing Loan Fund, which is for city contractors only, and 4% to 6% at Renaissance Economic Development Corporation. The city’s general-purpose fund, the NYC Future Fund, charges 7.5%. Bank SBA 7(a) loans in the five boroughs carried median starting rates of 9.25% to 11.5%, depending on loan size.

The table lists 19 city, state and community options, in that order, with figures taken this month from each program’s own page, linked in the first column. “Not published” means the lender does not post the number and you have to ask. SBA loans follow the table.

City, state and community lenders

Two funds that are closed

The NYC Small Business Opportunity Fund, which lent up to $250,000 at 4%, is closed. The mayor’s office said so on March 11, 2024, after 1,046 businesses had borrowed more than $85 million. The state’s New York Forward Loan Fund 2, with loans up to $150,000, “is not accepting new loan applications,” though the city’s financing page still lists it. Its own site sends applicants to the Main Street Capital Loan Fund and the Small Business Revolving Loan Fund, both in the table.

Where to apply first

If you have been open 12 months and take in $50,000 a year, I’d start with the NYC Future Fund. You pay interest monthly at 7.5%, and principal payments are designed to move with your revenue, which suits a restaurant or shop with slow months. Four lenders make the loans: Community Reinvestment Fund, Accompany Capital, Grow America and Pursuit. Ask about the ceiling first, because Accompany Capital lists its Future Fund loans at $25,000 to $150,000.

Newer businesses and owners with thin credit have four realistic options: Accompany Capital’s 8% microloans with no minimum credit score, Renaissance, which lends to pre-revenue startups, Brooklyn Cooperative’s $500 to $15,000 startup loans, and Kiva at 0% if you can bring your own first lenders.

Contractors waiting on government payments should look at the city fund at up to 3% before anything else. The state program lends here through Carver Federal Savings Bank, Ponce Bank, TruFund, Greater Jamaica Development Corporation and BOC Capital; the contractor financing page has more.

SBA loans

SBA loans are made by banks and nonprofit lenders, and the federal government guarantees part of the balance. There are four kinds.

7(a). The general-purpose loan, up to $5 million, for working capital, equipment, real estate, refinancing or buying a business. The SBA guarantees up to 85% of a loan of $150,000 or less and up to 75% of a larger one. Variable rates are capped by 13 CFR 120.214 at the base rate plus 6.5 points on loans of $50,000 or less, 6 points up to $250,000, 4.5 points up to $350,000 and 3 points above that. With prime at 7.00% on October 8, 2026, the ceilings run from 13.5% down to 10%.

SBA Express. A 7(a) loan capped at $500,000 in which the lender makes the credit decision on its own forms and the SBA guarantees 50%. The SBA does not require collateral up to $50,000. Both credit unions in the table lend through it.

504. Fixed-rate money for real estate and for equipment with at least 10 years of useful life. It cannot pay for working capital or inventory. The loans come only through Certified Development Companies, run 10, 20 or 25 years and are priced off the 10-year Treasury. The limit is $5 million per borrower, or $5.5 million per project for small manufacturers and certain energy projects.

Microloans. Up to $50,000, averaging about $13,000, from nonprofit intermediaries at rates that generally run 8% to 13%, for as long as seven years. They cannot repay existing debts or buy real estate. Renaissance and Pursuit both make them.

By our analysis of SBA loan data (as of June 30, 2026), 142 lenders had 3,980 7(a) loans approved in the five boroughs from October 2023 through June 2026, cancelled loans excluded. The top five made 56% of them.

Over fiscal years 2020 to 2026, TD Bank’s median NYC 7(a) loan was $50,000 and Chase’s was $152,000, while Readycap’s was $350,000. A $40,000 request belongs at TD or at a credit union: Brooklyn Cooperative made 80 SBA loans in that span with a median of $15,000. Median starting rates in the recent period were 11.5% on loans of $150,000 or less, 10.55% from $150,000 to $350,000, 10.25% from $350,000 to $1 million and 9.25% above $1 million. The SBA lender finder breaks these counts down by borough, industry and loan size.

What you will be asked for

For a 7(a) loan the business fills out SBA Form 1919, the borrower information form, and under 13 CFR 120.160 holders of at least 20% of the business “generally must guarantee the loan.” The SBA also requires a for-profit business that cannot get the loan on reasonable terms from non-government sources.

Lender checklists ask for more. Lower East Side People’s wants its application, a business plan or its plan questionnaire, three years of business and personal tax returns and financial statements for every owner, and three-year projections. Brooklyn Cooperative has every owner complete SBA Forms 1919 and 413 and a signed Form 4506-C, plus a guaranty from each owner if the business has more than one.

Time in business runs from none at Renaissance to 2 years at Accion Opportunity Fund. Published credit floors are 575 at Ascendus and 640 at Pursuit; Accompany Capital and Kiva set none.

If a bank says no

Ascendus requires a referral from a partner such as a bank, so ask the banker who turned you down for one. Then call the city at 888-727-4692. SBS Financing Assistance is free: its staff help you choose a product and assemble documents, then connect you with lenders. On the two city funds it comes from an account manager at a local NYC Business Solutions Center. It is not a loan application. The site’s piece on bank loan refusals goes further.

A merchant cash advance is the fast option, and speed is its one advantage. A $50,000 advance at a 1.40 factor rate, repaid by debits every business day, works out to about 71% APR over twelve months and 142% over six. Pursuit’s SmartLoan, capped at 11.9%, funds within five business days of approval, so the time an advance saves you is measured in days. Run any offer through the MCA vs. loan calculator before you sign, or use the financing request form to ask for loan options.