SBA 7(a) lenders in Cherokee, NC
Approvals in SBA fiscal years 2009–2025. Source data as of 2026-06-30.
Lenders
22 institutions have SBA 7(a) loans on record in Cherokee, together $29.5M across 33 loans. Live Oak Banking Company is the largest, with 13% of approvals.
| Rank | Lender | Loans | Approved | Share | Loss rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Live Oak Banking Company | 3 | $3.8M | 12.9% | 0.00% |
| 2 | Community Bank of Pickens County | 1 | $3.6M | 12.3% | 0.00% |
| 3 | Citizens Bank | 1 | $3.1M | 10.7% | 0.00% |
| 4 | HomeTrust Bank | 2 | $2.7M | 9.3% | 0.00% |
| 5 | Newtek Small Business Finance, Inc. | 2 | $2.7M | 9.2% | 0.00% |
| 6 | United Community Bank | 5 | $2.6M | 8.9% | 0.00% |
| 7 | Bank of Hope | 1 | $2.1M | 7.1% | 0.00% |
| 8 | Truliant FCU | 1 | $1.3M | 4.4% | 0.00% |
| 9 | Coastal States Bank | 1 | $1.3M | 4.3% | 0.00% |
| 10 | First Port City Bank | 1 | $1.1M | 3.8% | 0.00% |
| 11 | Thread Bank | 1 | $997K | 3.4% | 0.00% |
| 12 | First Financial Bank | 2 | $836K | 2.8% | 0.00% |
| 13 | PromiseOne Bank | 1 | $770K | 2.6% | 0.00% |
| 14 | Gulf Coast Bank and Trust Company | 1 | $583K | 2.0% | 0.00% |
| 15 | Wells Fargo Bank National Association | 1 | $522K | 1.8% | 0.00% |
| 16 | First Financial Bank, National Association | 1 | $452K | 1.5% | 0.00% |
| 17 | Paragon Bank | 1 | $340K | 1.2% | 0.00% |
| 18 | Celtic Bank Corporation | 2 | $300K | 1.0% | 23.69% |
| 19 | Truist Bank | 2 | $241K | 0.8% | 0.00% |
| 20 | Northeast Bank | 1 | $20K | 0.1% | 0.00% |
| 21 | Readycap Lending, LLC | 1 | $18K | 0.1% | 0.00% |
| 22 | VelocitySBA, LLC | 1 | $5K | 0.0% | 37.23% |
Loss rates cover every approval year on record together. SBA 7(a) losses peak two to four years after approval, so a lender whose lending is mostly recent will show a low rate because its loans have not aged yet, not because they are performing better.
What the money went into
| Rank | Industry | Loans | Approved | Share of county |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Accommodation & food services | 8 | $11.2M | 37.9% |
| 2 | Retail trade | 8 | $6.4M | 21.8% |
| 3 | Other services | 7 | $6.3M | 21.4% |
| 4 | Manufacturing | 1 | $1.5M | 5.1% |
| 5 | Retail trade | 1 | $1.3M | 4.4% |
| 6 | Professional & technical services | 3 | $1.3M | 4.3% |
| 7 | Information | 3 | $752K | 2.5% |
| 8 | Construction | 1 | $522K | 1.8% |
| 9 | Real estate & leasing | 1 | $215K | 0.7% |
Industry is the borrower’s NAICS sector as recorded by SBA at approval, grouped to the two-digit sector.
About this data
Built from the U.S. Small Business Administration’s 7(a) FOIA data release, a public record covering approvals from fiscal year 2008 onward and refreshed each quarter. SBA fiscal years end 30 September, so the most recent year is partial. Figures are approvals, not outstanding balances, and SBA attributes each loan to the institution that holds it today rather than the one that originated it — an acquisitive lender therefore shows books it did not write.