First Merchants Bank
- Loans
- 45
- Approved
- $62M
- Median deal
- $985,000
- Median rate
- 9.75%
#53 of 249 by loans, FY2025 to FY2026 Q3
gross approvals
national $709,300
national 9.25% at approval
Loans per fiscal year
FY2026 is partial: 25 loans approved through June 30, 2026.
| Fiscal year | Loans |
|---|---|
| FY2020 | 24 |
| FY2021 | 24 |
| FY2022 | 12 |
| FY2023 | 24 |
| FY2024 | 12 |
| FY2025 | 20 |
| FY2026 (partial year, through June 30, 2026) | 25 |
How they lend
Across 45 change-of-ownership loans, FY2025 to FY2026 Q3.
Acquisition share of their 7(a) lending
Acquisitions 141 (13.3%)Other purposes 918 (86.7%)
Their full 7(a) book since FY2020 is 1,059 loans. Every other figure on this page counts the 141 acquisition loans only.
Initial rate structure
Variable 100.00%Fixed 0.00%
- Middle half of rates
- 9.50% to 10.25%
- Typical margin over Prime
- Prime + 2.75% at approval (45 variable loans)
- Recent median rate
- 9.50% (n = 14, Jan 1 to Jun 30, 2026)
- Median term
- 120 months
- Collateral reported
- 100.00% of loans
- Sold on the secondary market
- 71.11% of loans
- Franchise loans
- 8.89% of loans
- Approval to first disbursement
- 28 days (n = 37)
Processing method
| Preferred Lenders Program | 82.22% | |
| International Trade Loans | 8.89% | |
| SBA Express Program | 4.44% | |
| PLP MARC | 2.22% |
SBA processing-method labels as they appear in the loan file, as shares of this lender’s window loans.
What they fund
Industries and deal sizes across 45 change-of-ownership loans, FY2025 to FY2026 Q3.
Top industries
| Manufacturing | 15.56% | |
| Retail Trade | 15.56% | |
| Other Services (except Public Administration) | 13.33% | |
| Accommodation and Food Services | 11.11% | |
| Construction | 11.11% |
Deal size mix
Under $350K 6.67%$350K to $1M 46.67%$1M to $3.5M 37.78%$3.5M+ 8.89%
Sectors from each loan’s NAICS code; deal sizes from gross approval amounts. Window loans only.
Where they lend
Top states by this lender’s change-of-ownership loans, FY2025 to FY2026 Q3.
- New York7 loans
- Texas7 loans
- Idaho5 loans
- California3 loans
- Connecticut3 loans
Grouped by ProjectState. State names link to the state lender pages where one exists.
First Merchants Bank: SBA acquisition lending, answered
Does First Merchants Bank make SBA acquisition loans?
Yes. First Merchants Bank was approved for 141 SBA 7(a) change-of-ownership loans since FY2020, including 45 in FY2025 to FY2026 Q3. That ranks it #53 of 249 acquisition lenders by loan count in that window. Acquisitions are 13.3% of its 7(a) lending; the rest are startups, expansions, and working capital.
What interest rates does First Merchants Bank charge on SBA loans?
Across its FY2025 to FY2026 Q3 acquisition loans, the median rate at approval was 9.75%, against a national median of 9.25%. Half of them started between 9.50% and 10.25%. Its variable-rate loans priced around Prime + 2.75%. Most 7(a) loans float over Prime, so these are rates at approval, not what a borrower pays today.
How large are First Merchants Bank's SBA acquisition loans?
The median deal was $985,000, against a national median of $709,300. In total it has approved $62M in gross change-of-ownership loans over FY2025 to FY2026 Q3.
How fast does First Merchants Bank fund an SBA loan?
Across the 37 loans that report both dates, the median time from approval to first disbursement was 28 days. Actual timelines vary with the deal and the documentation.
What kinds of businesses does First Merchants Bank finance?
Its FY2025 to FY2026 Q3 acquisition loans concentrate in Manufacturing and Retail Trade. 8.89% of its acquisition loans went to franchises. The full industry and deal-size mix is above.
Run a deal at these rates
The deal analyzer prices an acquisition with current SBA terms and shows whether the numbers cover the debt.
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Every 7(a) acquisition lender in the country, searchable and sortable, with loan counts, medians, and rates.
Browse all lendersSource: SBA 7(a) FOIA file, change-of-ownership loans for First Merchants Bank. Window stats cover FY2025 to FY2026 Q3, as of June 30, 2026, and refresh with each quarterly cut. Rates and rate quartiles are the rates at approval. Website, headquarters, assets, founding year, and office count come from the FDIC BankFind Suite API and, for credit unions, the NCUA Credit Union Locator (public US government data). Methodology. See an error? Email us and we will correct it.