Can a lender require a guarantee from a minority owner?

Yes. SOP 50 10 8.1, Sec. A, Ch. 5, Para. A.1.c, and 13 CFR § 120.160(a) let SBA or a delegated lender require full or limited guaranties regardless of ownership. The SOP's example is a minority owner or non-owner who is critical to operating the business.

Entities can be required too. The SOP names entities that manage day-to-day operations through a Management Agreement, even with no ownership interest (Para. A.3.c).

Supplemental Guarantors

A Supplemental Guarantor is a person or entity the lender requires out of caution, when SBA rules do not otherwise require one (App. 3). The SOP treats them differently from required guarantors:

• No personal financial statement is required (Sec. A, Ch. 5, Para. A.1.e).
• Their personal real estate is outside the collateral shortfall rule on a business purchase (App. 15, Para. C.3.d).
• A delinquent federal debt of a Supplemental Guarantor does not make the applicant ineligible (Sec. A, Ch. 1, Para. E, Delinquent Federal Debt).

Limited or full

The lender may ask for a full guaranty or a limited one. If limited, it must pick one payment limitation on SBA Form 148L or, on a 7(a) loan, its own equivalent form. It must specify that option in the SBA Terms and Conditions (Para. A.1.d).

Not a Supplemental Guarantor

A non-owner spouse may have to give a limited guaranty to secure a lien on jointly owned real estate. That person is not a Supplemental Guarantor, because the guaranty is mandatory (App. 3).