Small business loans in Reading, PA
Short answer
The most active SBA lenders in Reading, PA since FY2024 are M&T Bank (10 loans) and Wilmington Savings Fund Society (6). The median loan was $150,000, and half fell between $62,325 and $899,000. For free help, see the Pennsylvania Small Business Development Centers. Source: SBA 7(a) loan data.
- SBA loans since FY2024
- 70
- approved since FY2024
- $38.26M
- median loan
- $150,000
- through SBA Express
- 31.4%
Lenders making SBA loans in Reading
No lender made more than 14% of the loans in Reading, and M&T Bank made the most. The four largest lenders together made 37%.
| Lender | Loans | Share |
|---|---|---|
| M&T Bank | 10 | 14.3% |
| Wilmington Savings Fund Society | 6 | 8.6% |
| BayFirst National Bank | 5 | 7.1% |
| Tompkins Community Bank | 5 | 7.1% |
Share is the percent of all Reading loans in that period. Each name links to that lender's page for Pennsylvania where one exists.
Reading has four lenders with five or more loans since FY2024. Others had fewer, and the Pennsylvania page counts 186 lenders with at least one approved loan statewide.
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Local help near Reading
Reading borrowers can start with SBA's district offices for Pennsylvania, an SBDC or SCORE.
33% of Reading 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 runs two district offices that cover Pennsylvania. Each page points to state and federal resources and to lenders in its area. The Pennsylvania Small Business Development Centers gives free counseling across Pennsylvania.
- SBA Philadelphia District OfficeSBA district office
- SBA Pittsburgh District OfficeSBA district office
- Pennsylvania Small Business Development CentersSmall Business Development Center
- SCORE mentors in PennsylvaniaBusiness mentoring
Alongside SBA loans, Pennsylvania runs two loan programs. The Pennsylvania page describes each, and the official pages are linked here.
Loan counts and sizes in Reading
Reading ranks 6th by loans since FY2024 among the 9 Pennsylvania cities with 100 or more SBA loans since FY2020. Nationally it is the 358th busiest of the 580 cities that reach 100 loans.
The 70 loans, 1.2% of the 5,619 in Pennsylvania, were approved for $38.3 million in all. The medianThe middle figure. Half the loans were larger and half were smaller. loan was $150,000, close to the national median of $150,300. Half of the loans fell between $62,325 and $899,000. The Pennsylvania median is $150,000.
| Measure | Reading | Pennsylvania | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loans | 70 | 5,619 | 162,355 |
| Median loan | $150,000 | $150,000 | $150,300 |
| 25th percentile | $62,325 | $50,000 | $50,000 |
| 75th percentile | $899,000 | $450,000 | $500,000 |
| Via SBA Express | 31.4% | 41.3% | 35.8% |
| Lines of credit | 18.6% | 34.8% | 28.1% |
| Startups | 12.9% | 17.6% | 16.1% |
| Ownership changes | 24.3% | 11.3% | 10.4% |
| Median term | 10 years | 10 years | 10 years |
| Median spread | 2.88 | 2.75 | 2.75 |
| Charged off | 0.0% | 3.2% | 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.
31.4% of all loans went through SBA Express, below the national 35.8%. Lines of credit were 18.6% 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, 42.9% of loans went to businesses more than two years old and 20.0% to businesses two years old or younger. Startups received 12.9% and changes of ownership 24.3%. The national startup share is 16.1%.
Fiscal years run October to September. The last bar covers nine of its twelve months.
Volume rose 75% from FY2024 (20 loans) to FY2025 (35), the two latest full years. The busiest full year in the file was FY2025, with 35 loans. FY2026 already shows 15 loans through June 30.
Of the 60 loans Reading borrowers received in FY2020 to FY2022, 0.0% 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. That group is small, so treat the rate as rough. Lenders reported 600 jobs supported across the 70 loans since FY2024, about 8.6 per loan. SBA does not audit these estimates.
What businesses in Reading borrow for
Full-Service Restaurants was the largest borrower group in Reading since FY2020, with 8 loans or 5.4% of the total.
The five largest industries made up 22% of all Reading loans since FY2020.
| Industry | Loans | Share | U.S. share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full-Service Restaurants | 8 | 5.4% | 4.6% |
| Insurance Agencies and Brokerages | 8 | 5.4% | 1.1% |
| Plumbing, Heating, and Air-Conditioning Contractors | 7 | 4.7% | 1.9% |
| Child Care Services | 5 | 3.4% | 1.5% |
| General Freight Trucking, Long-Distance, Truckload | 5 | 3.4% | 1.3% |
Share is the percent of all Reading loans in that period. Industry is the NAICS code on each loan. A name links to the Pennsylvania page for that industry where one exists.
A typical loan payment in Reading
The median Reading loan was $150,000 with a median term of 10 years.
The median variable-rate loan in Reading was priced at Prime plus 2.88 percentage points at approval. At today's Prime that spread works out to 9.88%. On $150,000 over 10 years, principal and interest would come to about $1,972 a month. That is arithmetic on past loans, not a rate a lender is offering.
| Loan | Amount | Monthly payment |
|---|---|---|
| 25th percentile loan | $62,325 | $819 |
| Median loan | $150,000 | $1,972 |
| 75th percentile loan | $899,000 | $11,821 |
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 $150,000 is Prime plus 6.0 percentage points, or 13.00% today. The median variable-rate loan here was priced 3.1 points under that ceiling. Source: 13 CFR § 120.214(d)(2); SOP 50 10 8.1, App. 18, Para. A.2 (p. 395).
Reading loans approved since FY2024 had a median starting rate of 10.38% 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 $150,000 loan and SBA Express payment calculator.
SBA 504 loans near Reading
Reading has 5 SBA 504 loans since FY2024, with $6.1 million in SBA and CDC dollars.
The median 504 loan in Reading was $511,000 in SBA and CDC dollars, 10% of the $5,000,000 program maximum. The bank's share of each project is separate and is not counted in these figures.
South Eastern Economic Development Company of Pennsylvania 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, 8 since FY2020.
| Certified Development Company | 504 loans |
|---|---|
| South Eastern Economic Development Company of Pennsylvania | 8 |
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.
Pennsylvania cities near Reading
Reading made up 1.2% of Pennsylvania's SBA loans since FY2024.
Reading is one of 9 Pennsylvania cities with 100 or more SBA loans since FY2020. The Pennsylvania page covers all 5,619 loans in Pennsylvania. The closest come first, ranked by county and ZIP code on their loans.
Common questions about SBA loans in Reading
Which lenders make the most SBA loans in Reading?
M&T Bank leads with 10 loans in Reading since FY2024. Wilmington Savings Fund Society (6) and BayFirst National Bank (5) follow. Only lenders with five or more Reading loans are counted.
Which industries get SBA loans in Reading?
Full-Service Restaurants leads with 8 loans in Reading since FY2020. Insurance Agencies and Brokerages (8) and Plumbing, Heating, and Air-Conditioning Contractors (7) follow.
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 Philadelphia District Office
- SBA Pittsburgh District Office
- Pennsylvania Small Business Development Centers
- SCORE, Pennsylvania
- 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 Reading, PA. SBA Express Loans, Janover Capital LLC (data as of June 30, 2026). https://www.sbaexpress.loans/pennsylvania-small-business-loans/reading/
Ask lending partners about a loan in Reading
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.