# Small business loans in Carolina, PR

**Short answer:** The most active SBA lenders in Carolina, PR since FY2024 are Banco Popular de Puerto Rico (52 loans) and FirstBank Puerto Rico (12). The median loan was $50,000, and half fell between $25,000 and $190,000. Source: SBA 7(a) loan data.

Canonical page: https://www.sbaexpress.loans/puerto-rico-small-business-loans/carolina/
Data as of: 2026-06-30

## Lenders making SBA loans in Carolina

Banco Popular de Puerto Rico alone made 71% of the loans in Carolina. The three largest lenders together made 100%.

**Lenders with five or more SBA loans in Carolina, PR, FY2024 to June 2026**

| Lender | Loans | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| [Banco Popular de Puerto Rico](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/sba-express-lenders/banco-popular-de-puerto-rico/) | 52 | 71.2% |
| [FirstBank Puerto Rico](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/sba-express-lenders/firstbank-puerto-rico/) | 12 | 16.4% |
| [Oriental Bank](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/sba-express-lenders/oriental-bank/) | 9 | 12.3% |

Share is the percent of all Carolina loans in that period. Each name links to that lender's page for Puerto Rico where one exists.

Carolina has three lenders with five or more loans since FY2024. Others had fewer, and the Puerto Rico page counts 11 lenders with at least one approved loan statewide.

## Local help near Carolina

Carolina borrowers can start with SBA's district office for Puerto Rico, an SBDC or SCORE.

23% of Carolina 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 Puerto Rico. Its page points to state and federal resources and to lenders in the area. The Puerto Rico Small Business and Technology Development Center gives free counseling across Puerto Rico.

- [SBA Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands District Office: SBA district office](https://www.sba.gov/district/puerto-rico-us-virgin-islands)
- [Puerto Rico Small Business and Technology Development Center: Small Business Development Center](https://prsbtdc.org/)
- [SCORE mentors in Puerto Rico: Business mentoring](https://www.score.org/pr/)

Alongside SBA loans, Puerto Rico runs two loan programs. The [Puerto Rico page](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/puerto-rico-small-business-loans/#loan-programs-in-puerto-rico) describes each, and the official pages are linked here.

- [Economic Development Bank for Puerto Rico (BDE) term loans](https://www.bde.pr.gov/BDEPROnline/Home/PrestamosATerminos)
- [Impulso a Tu Negocio (SSBCI)](https://www.bde.pr.gov/BDEPROnline/Home/ImpulsoATuNegocio)

## Loan counts and sizes in Carolina

Carolina ranks 4th by loans since FY2024 among the 5 Puerto Rico cities with 100 or more SBA loans since FY2020. Nationally it is the 335th busiest of the 580 cities that reach 100 loans.

The 73 loans, 4.9% of the 1,490 in Puerto Rico, were approved for $11.2 million in all. The median loan was $50,000, 67% below the national median of $150,300. Half of the loans fell between $25,000 and $190,000. The Puerto Rico median is $51,050.

**Carolina, PR compared with Puerto Rico and the nation, loans from FY2024 to June 2026**

| Measure | Carolina | Puerto Rico | U.S. |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Loans | 73 | 1,490 | 162,355 |
| Median loan | $50,000 | $51,050 | $150,300 |
| 25th percentile | $25,000 | $25,000 | $50,000 |
| 75th percentile | $190,000 | $180,000 | $500,000 |
| Via SBA Express | 82.2% | 77.5% | 35.8% |
| Lines of credit | 61.6% | 50.7% | 28.1% |
| Startups | 9.6% | 18.1% | 16.1% |
| Ownership changes | 0.0% | 1.1% | 10.4% |
| Median term | 10 years | 10 years | 10 years |
| Median spread | 3.75 | 3.75 | 2.75 |
| Charged off | 0.0% | 1.4% | 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.

82.2% of all loans went through SBA Express, above the national 35.8%. Lines of credit were 61.6% of loans, above the national 28.1%.

SBA loans in Carolina, PR by size, FY2024 to June 2026

- $50,000 or less (52%): 38
- $50,001 to $150,000 (21%): 15
- $150,001 to $350,000 (19%): 14
- $350,001 to $500,000: Fewer than 5
- $500,001 to $1,000,000: Fewer than 5
- $1,000,001 to $2,000,000 (0%): 0
- Over $2,000,000: Fewer than 5

Labels show each size's share of all loans. The highlighted bar is the size band that contains the median.

By business age, 76.7% of loans went to businesses more than two years old and 13.7% to businesses two years old or younger. Startups received 9.6% and changes of ownership 0.0%. The national startup share is 16.1%.

SBA loans in Carolina, PR by fiscal year

- FY2020: 12
- FY2021: 13
- FY2022: 10
- FY2023: 19
- FY2024: 31
- FY2025: 27
- FY2026 (through June 30): 15

Fiscal years run October to September. The last bar covers nine of its twelve months.

Volume fell 13% from FY2024 (31 loans) to FY2025 (27), the two latest full years. The busiest full year in the file was FY2024, with 31 loans. FY2026 already shows 15 loans through June 30.

Of the 35 loans Carolina borrowers received in FY2020 to FY2022, 0.0% were charged off by June 30, 2026, against 3.6% nationally. That group is small, so treat the rate as rough. Lenders reported 1,123 jobs supported across the 73 loans since FY2024, about 15.4 per loan. SBA does not audit these estimates.

## What businesses in Carolina borrow for

Full-Service Restaurants was the largest borrower group in Carolina since FY2020, with 10 loans or 7.9% of the total.

The three largest industries made up 18% of all Carolina loans since FY2020.

**Industries with the most SBA loans in Carolina, PR, FY2020 to June 2026**

| Industry | Loans | Share | U.S. share |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Full-Service Restaurants](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/industries/full-service-restaurants/puerto-rico/) | 10 | 7.9% | 4.6% |
| [Offices of Physicians (except Mental Health Specialists)](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/industries/offices-of-physicians/puerto-rico/) | 8 | 6.3% | 1.1% |
| [Beauty Salons](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/industries/beauty-salons/) | 5 | 3.9% | 1.5% |

Share is the percent of all Carolina loans in that period. Industry is the NAICS code on each loan. A name links to the Puerto Rico page for that industry where one exists.

## A typical loan payment in Carolina

The median Carolina loan was $50,000 with a median term of 10 years.

The median variable-rate loan in Carolina was priced at Prime plus 3.75 percentage points at approval. At today's Prime that spread works out to 10.75%. On $50,000 over 10 years, principal and interest would come to about $682 a month. That is arithmetic on past loans, not a rate a lender is offering.

**Payment at today's rate on three Carolina loan sizes over 10 years**

| Loan | Amount | Monthly payment |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 25th percentile loan | $25,000 | $341 |
| Median loan | $50,000 | $682 |
| 75th percentile loan | $190,000 | $2,590 |

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 $50,000 is Prime plus 6.5 percentage points, or 13.50% today. The median variable-rate loan here was priced 2.8 points under that ceiling. Source: 13 CFR § 120.214(d)(1); SOP 50 10 8.1, App. 18, Para. A.2 (p. 395).

Carolina loans approved since FY2024 had a median starting rate of 11.5% 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 $50,000 loan](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/loan-amounts/50000-business-loan/) and [SBA Express payment calculator](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/sba-express-payment-calculator/).

## SBA 504 loans near Carolina

Carolina has 12 SBA 504 loans since FY2024, with $14.0 million in SBA and CDC dollars.

The median 504 loan in Carolina was $524,000 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.

Marketing Small Business Finance Corporation is the Certified Development Company (CDC) named on the most loans since FY2020, with 14. Corp. Financiamiento Empresarial del Comercio y Comunidades (COFECC) follows with 5. The two CDCs listed are named on 19 loans between them.

**CDCs named on five or more 504 loans in Carolina, FY2020 to June 2026**

| Certified Development Company | 504 loans |
| --- | --- |
| Marketing Small Business Finance Corporation | 14 |
| Corp. Financiamiento Empresarial del Comercio y Comunidades (COFECC) | 5 |

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 capital or inventory. Source: SOP 50 10 8.1, Sec. C, Ch. 1, Para. B (p. 221). SBA keeps a [list of Certified Development Companies](https://www.sba.gov/loans/504-loans/list-of-certified-development-companies/).

## Puerto Rico cities near Carolina

Carolina made up 4.9% of Puerto Rico's SBA loans since FY2024.

Carolina is one of 5 Puerto Rico cities with 100 or more SBA loans since FY2020. The [Puerto Rico page](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/puerto-rico-small-business-loans/) covers all 1,490 loans in Puerto Rico. The closest come first, ranked by county and ZIP code on their loans.

- [Guaynabo: 70 loans, median $86,500](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/puerto-rico-small-business-loans/guaynabo/)
- [Bayamón: 113 loans, median $75,000](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/puerto-rico-small-business-loans/bayamon/)
- [San Juan: 264 loans, median $100,000](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/puerto-rico-small-business-loans/san-juan/)
- [Caguas: 76 loans, median $80,000](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/puerto-rico-small-business-loans/caguas/)

## Common questions about SBA loans in Carolina

### Which lenders make the most SBA loans in Carolina?

Banco Popular de Puerto Rico leads with 52 loans in Carolina since FY2024. FirstBank Puerto Rico (12) and Oriental Bank (9) follow. Only lenders with five or more Carolina loans are counted.

### Which industries get SBA loans in Carolina?

Full-Service Restaurants leads with 10 loans in Carolina since FY2020. Offices of Physicians (except Mental Health Specialists) (8) and Beauty Salons (5) 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](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/method/).

## Sources

- [SBA 7(a) and 504 FOIA loan-level data, as of June 30, 2026](https://data.sba.gov/dataset/7a-504-foia)
- [SBA, 504 loans](https://www.sba.gov/loans/504-loans/)
- [SBA, resource partners: SBDCs and SCORE](https://www.sba.gov/counseling/local-assistance/resource-partners/)
- [SBA Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands District Office](https://www.sba.gov/district/puerto-rico-us-virgin-islands)
- [Puerto Rico Small Business and Technology Development Center](https://prsbtdc.org/)
- [SCORE, Puerto Rico](https://www.score.org/pr/)
- [SOP 50 10 8.1, Sec. C, Ch. 1, Para. D.1 (p. 241); 13 CFR § 120.931](https://legacy.sba.gov/sites/default/files/2026-10/SOP%2050%2010%208.1%20Technical%20Policy%20Updates%20effective%20%2010.1.2026.docx)
- [SOP 50 10 8.1, Sec. C, Ch. 1, Para. B (p. 221)](https://legacy.sba.gov/sites/default/files/2026-10/SOP%2050%2010%208.1%20Technical%20Policy%20Updates%20effective%20%2010.1.2026.docx)
- [sba.gov/loans/504-loans; SOP 50 10 8.1, Sec. A, Ch. 3, Para. A (p. 51)](https://www.sba.gov/loans/504-loans/)
- [SOP 50 10 8.1, Sec. B, Ch. 2, Para. B.1 (p. 126)](https://legacy.sba.gov/sites/default/files/2026-10/SOP%2050%2010%208.1%20Technical%20Policy%20Updates%20effective%20%2010.1.2026.docx)
- [13 CFR § 120.214(d)(1); SOP 50 10 8.1, App. 18, Para. A.2 (p. 395)](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-13/section-120.214)