Small business loans in Lexington, KY
Short answer
The most active SBA lenders in Lexington, KY since FY2024 are Republic Bank & Trust Company (11 loans) and Community Trust Bank (10). The median loan was $250,000, and half fell between $80,500 and $529,500. For free help, see the Kentucky Small Business Development Center. Source: SBA 7(a) loan data.
- SBA loans since FY2024
- 127
- approved since FY2024
- $64.95M
- median loan
- $250,000
- through SBA Express
- 30.7%
Lenders making SBA loans in Lexington
No lender made more than 9% of the loans in Lexington, and Republic Bank & Trust Company made the most. The five largest lenders together made 37%.
| Lender | Loans | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Republic Bank & Trust Company | 11 | 8.7% |
| Community Trust Bank | 10 | 7.9% |
| Northeast Bank | 9 | 7.1% |
| The Huntington National Bank | 9 | 7.1% |
| Newtek Bank | 8 | 6.3% |
Share is the percent of all Lexington loans in that period. Each name links to that lender's page for Kentucky where one exists.
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Local help near Lexington
Lexington borrowers can start with SBA's district office for Kentucky, an SBDC or SCORE.
35% of Lexington borrowers since FY2024 were startups or businesses two years old or younger. SBDCs provide counseling and training, and SCORE mentors give advice at no cost, according to SBA.
SBA has one district office for Kentucky. Its page points to state and federal resources and to lenders in the area. The Kentucky Small Business Development Center gives free counseling across Kentucky.
- SBA Kentucky District Office (Louisville)SBA district office
- Kentucky Small Business Development Center (University of Kentucky)Small Business Development Center
- SCORE mentors in KentuckyBusiness mentoring
Alongside SBA loans, Kentucky runs two loan programs. The Kentucky page describes each, and the official pages are linked here.
Loan counts and sizes in Lexington
Lexington ranks 2nd by loans since FY2024 among the 2 Kentucky cities with 100 or more SBA loans since FY2020. Nationally it is the 138th busiest of the 580 cities that reach 100 loans.
The 127 loans, 10.1% of the 1,253 in Kentucky, were approved for $65.0 million in all. The medianThe middle figure. Half the loans were larger and half were smaller. loan was $250,000, 66% above the national median of $150,300. Half of the loans fell between $80,500 and $529,500. The Lexington median is 67% above the Kentucky median of $150,000.
| Measure | Lexington | Kentucky | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loans | 127 | 1,253 | 162,355 |
| Median loan | $250,000 | $150,000 | $150,300 |
| 25th percentile | $80,500 | $51,300 | $50,000 |
| 75th percentile | $529,500 | $480,000 | $500,000 |
| Via SBA Express | 30.7% | 37.4% | 35.8% |
| Lines of credit | 24.4% | 24.7% | 28.1% |
| Startups | 22.8% | 20.0% | 16.1% |
| Ownership changes | 14.2% | 13.6% | 10.4% |
| Median term | 10 years | 10 years | 10 years |
| Median spread | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.75 |
| Charged off | 6.9% | 2.6% | 3.6% |
A quarter of loans were smaller than the 25th percentile loan and a quarter were larger than the 75th. Median spread is in percentage points over Prime. Charged off is the share of FY2020 to FY2022 loans a lender wrote off as a loss. It is shown only for groups of 30 loans or more. Fewer than 5 marks a share that would stand for 1 to 4 loans, which we do not publish. U.S. covers every loan in the file.
74% of the loans were $500,000 or less, the size SBA Express covers. 30.7% of all loans went through SBA Express, below the national 35.8%. Lines of credit were 24.4% of loans, below the national 28.1%.
Labels show each size's share of all loans. The highlighted bar is the size band that contains the median.
By business age, 51.2% of loans went to businesses more than two years old and 11.8% to businesses two years old or younger. Startups received 22.8% and changes of ownership 14.2%. The national startup share is 16.1%.
Fiscal years run October to September. The last bar covers nine of its twelve months.
Volume fell 8% from FY2024 (48 loans) to FY2025 (44), the two latest full years. The busiest full year in the file was FY2024, with 48 loans. FY2026 already shows 35 loans through June 30.
Of the 102 loans Lexington borrowers received in FY2020 to FY2022, 6.9% were charged offThe lender wrote the loan off as a loss because it was not being repaid. by June 30, 2026, against 3.6% nationally. Lenders reported 1,331 jobs supported across the 127 loans since FY2024, about 10.5 per loan. SBA does not audit these estimates.
What businesses in Lexington borrow for
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers was the largest borrower group in Lexington, with 7 loans or 5.5% of the total.
| Industry | Loans | Share | U.S. share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers | 7 | 5.5% | 2.1% |
Share is the percent of all Lexington loans in that period. Industry is the NAICS code on each loan. A name links to the Kentucky page for that industry where one exists.
A typical loan payment in Lexington
The median Lexington loan was $250,000 with a median term of 10 years.
The median variable-rate loan in Lexington was priced at Prime plus 2.5 percentage points at approval. At today's Prime that spread works out to 9.50%. On $250,000 over 10 years, principal and interest would come to about $3,235 a month. That is arithmetic on past loans, not a rate a lender is offering.
| Loan | Amount | Monthly payment |
|---|---|---|
| 25th percentile loan | $80,500 | $1,042 |
| Median loan | $250,000 | $3,235 |
| 75th percentile loan | $529,500 | $6,852 |
Principal and interest only. Fees, a different term or a fixed rate change the payment. This is an illustration from SBA's file, not an offer.
SBA's rate ceiling for this loan size
SBA's maximum for a loan of $250,000 is Prime plus 6.0 percentage points, or 13.00% today. The median variable-rate loan here was priced 3.5 points under that ceiling. Source: 13 CFR § 120.214(d)(2); SOP 50 10 8.1, App. 18, Para. A.2 (p. 395).
Lexington loans approved since FY2024 had a median starting rate of 9.5% at approval, against 10.25% nationally. Prime changed during those years, so use the spread above, not that rate, as the guide to today's cost.
Run your own numbers: payments on a $250,000 loan and SBA Express payment calculator.
SBA 504 loans near Lexington
Lexington has 7 SBA 504 loans since FY2024, with $2.8 million in SBA and CDC dollars.
The median 504 loan in Lexington was $301,000 in SBA and CDC dollars, 6% of the $5,000,000 program maximum. The bank's share of each project is separate and is not counted in these figures.
Community Ventures Corporation is the one Certified Development CompanyA nonprofit that SBA certifies and regulates to arrange 504 loans together with a bank. (CDC) named on five or more loans, 17 since FY2020.
| Certified Development Company | 504 loans |
|---|---|
| Community Ventures Corporation | 17 |
How a 504 loan is split
A standard 504 project is 50% third party lender, 40% CDC debenture, 10% borrower. 504 money pays for major fixed assets such as land, buildings and long-term machinery and equipment, not working capitalMoney for day-to-day costs such as payroll, rent and inventory. Full definition or inventory. Source: SOP 50 10 8.1, Sec. C, Ch. 1, Para. B (p. 221). SBA keeps a list of Certified Development Companies.
Kentucky cities near Lexington
Lexington made up 10.1% of Kentucky's SBA loans since FY2024.
Lexington is one of 2 Kentucky cities with 100 or more SBA loans since FY2020. The Kentucky page covers all 1,253 loans in Kentucky. The closest come first, ranked by county and ZIP code on their loans.
Common questions about SBA loans in Lexington
Which lenders make the most SBA loans in Lexington?
Republic Bank & Trust Company leads with 11 loans in Lexington since FY2024. Community Trust Bank (10) and Northeast Bank (9) follow. Only lenders with five or more Lexington loans are counted.
Which industries get SBA loans in Lexington?
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers leads with 7 loans in Lexington since FY2024.
How to read this
Counts come from SBA's 7(a) loan-level data release, as of June 30, 2026. The file lists loans SBA approved. It does not list declined applications, so it cannot show approval odds. We do not publish any figure built on fewer than 5 loans. Location is the borrower's address in the file, and city names are as SBA recorded them. Recent means FY2024 through June 30, 2026. Charge-off rates use FY2020 to FY2022 loans, the only years old enough to have had time to go bad. Jobs supported are lender-reported estimates. How we build these pages.
Sources
- SBA 7(a) and 504 FOIA loan-level data, as of June 30, 2026
- SBA, 504 loans
- SBA, resource partners: SBDCs and SCORE
- SBA Kentucky District Office (Louisville)
- Kentucky Small Business Development Center (University of Kentucky)
- SCORE, Kentucky
- SOP 50 10 8.1, Sec. C, Ch. 1, Para. D.1 (p. 241); 13 CFR § 120.931
- SOP 50 10 8.1, Sec. C, Ch. 1, Para. B (p. 221)
- sba.gov/loans/504-loans; SOP 50 10 8.1, Sec. A, Ch. 3, Para. A (p. 51)
- SOP 50 10 8.1, Sec. B, Ch. 2, Para. B.1 (p. 126)
- 13 CFR § 120.214(d)(2); SOP 50 10 8.1, App. 18, Para. A.2 (p. 395)
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Cite this page: Small business loans in Lexington, KY. SBA Express Loans, Janover Capital LLC (data as of June 30, 2026). https://www.sbaexpress.loans/kentucky-small-business-loans/lexington/
Ask lending partners about a loan in Lexington
Tell us what you need and we refer your request to lending partners.
Janover Capital LLC is not a lender and is not the SBA. The lender makes the credit decision. A lender or marketplace may pay us a referral fee if we connect you, at no cost to you. Advertiser disclosure.