# Small business loans in Puerto Rico

**Short answer:** The most active SBA lenders in Puerto Rico since FY2024 are Banco Popular de Puerto Rico (1,038 loans) and Oriental Bank (250). The median loan was $51,050, and half fell between $25,000 and $180,000. Source: SBA 7(a) loan data.

Canonical page: https://www.sbaexpress.loans/puerto-rico-small-business-loans/
Data as of: 2026-06-30
Last checked: 2026-11-09

## Lenders making SBA loans in Puerto Rico

Banco Popular de Puerto Rico alone made 70% of the loans in Puerto Rico. The five largest lenders together made 99%.

11 lenders had at least one SBA loan approved in Puerto Rico since FY2024, and 5 of them had five or more. Those 5 are 4 banks and 1 non-bank lender. Banks made 99% of the loans, non-bank lenders under 1%.

**Lenders with the most SBA loans in Puerto Rico, FY2024 to June 2026**

| Lender | Loans | Median | Express |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Banco Popular de Puerto Rico](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/sba-express-lenders/banco-popular-de-puerto-rico/) | 1,038 | $50,000 | 94.2% |
| [Oriental Bank](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/sba-express-lenders/oriental-bank/) | 250 | $146,300 | 33.2% |
| [FirstBank Puerto Rico](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/sba-express-lenders/firstbank-puerto-rico/) | 160 | $62,650 | 56.2% |
| [Economic Development Bank for Puerto Rico](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/sba-express-lenders/economic-development-bank-for-puerto-rico/) | 27 | $94,000 | Fewer than 5 |
| Corp. Financiamiento Empresarial del Comercio y Comunidades (COFECC): Non-bank lender | 6 | $112,350 | 0.0% |

Median is the lender's median loan. Express is the percent of its loans made through SBA Express. A line under a name gives the type of any lender that is not an active bank. Each name links to that lender's page for the state.

## Local help in Puerto Rico: SBA, SBDC and SCORE

Puerto Rico has an SBA district office, a Small Business Development Center network and SCORE mentors.

35% of Puerto Rico 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. 11 lenders had SBA loans approved in Puerto Rico since FY2024.

The Economic Development Bank's program pages are written in Spanish.

- [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/)

## Loan programs in Puerto Rico

Two loan programs in Puerto Rico sit beside the 1,490 SBA loans above.

Two programs are confirmed on official pages. Each has its own eligibility rules, so read the official page before you apply.

- **[Economic Development Bank for Puerto Rico (BDE) term loans](https://www.bde.pr.gov/BDEPROnline/Home/PrestamosATerminos)**
The Economic Development Bank for Puerto Rico makes direct term loans to small and medium-size businesses, including new businesses. You can start the application online. (Checked Nov 9, 2026.)
- **[Impulso a Tu Negocio (SSBCI)](https://www.bde.pr.gov/BDEPROnline/Home/ImpulsoATuNegocio)**
Federal State Small Business Credit Initiative funds let the Economic Development Bank buy up to 50 percent of an eligible loan, or provide cash collateral for up to 50 percent of a small business loan. Both programs work alongside a commercial bank or local cooperative. (Checked Nov 9, 2026.)

## Loan counts and sizes in Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico ranks 29th among the 50 states, DC and Puerto Rico for SBA loans, with 0.9% of the 162,355 loans approved since FY2024.

The 1,490 loans were approved for $244.1 million in all. The median loan was $51,050, 66% below the national median of $150,300. Half of the loans fell between $25,000 and $180,000.

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

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

96% of the loans were $500,000 or less, the size SBA Express covers. 77.5% of all loans went through SBA Express, above the national 35.8%. Lines of credit were 50.7% of loans, above the national 28.1%.

SBA loans in Puerto Rico by size, FY2024 to June 2026

- $50,000 or less (50%): 743
- $50,001 to $150,000 (22%): 331
- $150,001 to $350,000 (19%): 276
- $350,001 to $500,000 (5%): 77
- $500,001 to $1,000,000 (2%): 37
- $1,000,001 to $2,000,000 (1%): 12
- Over $2,000,000 (1%): 14

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

By business age, 64.1% of loans went to businesses more than two years old and 16.6% to businesses two years old or younger. Startups received 18.1% and changes of ownership 1.1%. The national startup share is 16.1%.

SBA loans in Puerto Rico by fiscal year

- FY2020: 261
- FY2021: 374
- FY2022: 370
- FY2023: 429
- FY2024: 581
- FY2025: 511
- FY2026 (through June 30): 398

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

Volume fell 12% from FY2024 (581 loans) to FY2025 (511), the two latest full years. The busiest full year in the file was FY2024, with 581 loans. FY2026 already shows 398 loans through June 30.

Of the 1,005 loans Puerto Rico borrowers received in FY2020 to FY2022, 1.4% were charged off by June 30, 2026, against 3.6% nationally. Lenders reported 15,795 jobs supported across the 1,490 loans since FY2024, about 10.6 per loan. SBA does not audit these estimates.

## What businesses in Puerto Rico borrow for

Offices of Physicians (except Mental Health Specialists) was the largest borrower group in Puerto Rico, with 107 loans or 7.2% of the total.

The five largest industries made up 23% of all Puerto Rico loans. Pharmacies and Drug Retailers stands out: its 50 loans are 3.4% of Puerto Rico loans, against 0.4% nationally, 7.7 times its national share.

**Industries with the most SBA loans in Puerto Rico, FY2024 to June 2026**

| Industry | Loans | Share | U.S. share |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Offices of Physicians (except Mental Health Specialists)](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/industries/offices-of-physicians/puerto-rico/) | 107 | 7.2% | 1.1% |
| [Full-Service Restaurants](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/industries/full-service-restaurants/puerto-rico/) | 97 | 6.5% | 4.6% |
| [Offices of Physical, Occupational and Speech Therapists, and Audiologists](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/industries/offices-of-physical-occupational-speech-therapists-audiologists/puerto-rico/) | 55 | 3.7% | 0.6% |
| [Pharmacies and Drug Retailers](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/industries/pharmacies-drug-retailers/puerto-rico/) | 50 | 3.4% | 0.4% |
| [Limited-Service Restaurants](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/industries/limited-service-restaurants/puerto-rico/) | 37 | 2.5% | 3.3% |

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

## Cities in Puerto Rico with SBA loan pages

Five Puerto Rico cities have 100 or more SBA loans in the file, and each has its own page.

[San Juan](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/puerto-rico-small-business-loans/san-juan/) (264 loans), [Bayamón](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/puerto-rico-small-business-loans/bayamon/) (113 loans) and [Caguas](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/puerto-rico-small-business-loans/caguas/) (76 loans) lead Puerto Rico by loan count, together 30% of the loans since FY2024.

- [San Juan: 264 loans, median $100,000](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/puerto-rico-small-business-loans/san-juan/)
- [Bayamón: 113 loans, median $75,000](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/puerto-rico-small-business-loans/bayamon/)
- [Caguas: 76 loans, median $80,000](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/puerto-rico-small-business-loans/caguas/)
- [Carolina: 73 loans, median $50,000](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/puerto-rico-small-business-loans/carolina/)
- [Guaynabo: 70 loans, median $86,500](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/puerto-rico-small-business-loans/guaynabo/)

## A typical loan payment in Puerto Rico

The median Puerto Rico loan was $51,050 with a median term of 10 years.

The median variable-rate loan in Puerto Rico was priced at Prime plus 3.75 percentage points at approval. At today's Prime that spread works out to 10.75%. On $51,050 over 10 years, principal and interest would come to about $696 a month. That is arithmetic on past loans, not a rate a lender is offering.

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

| Loan | Amount | Monthly payment |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 25th percentile loan | $25,000 | $341 |
| Median loan | $51,050 | $696 |
| 75th percentile loan | $180,000 | $2,454 |

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 $51,050 is Prime plus 6.0 percentage points, or 13.00% today. The median variable-rate loan here was priced 2.2 points under that ceiling. Source: 13 CFR § 120.214(d)(2); SOP 50 10 8.1, App. 18, Para. A.2 (p. 395).

Puerto Rico loans approved since FY2024 had a median starting rate of 11% 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 and Certified Development Companies in Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico has 171 SBA 504 loans since FY2024, with $85.2 million in SBA and CDC dollars.

The median 504 loan in Puerto Rico was $284,000 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.

Marketing Small Business Finance Corporation is the Certified Development Company (CDC) named on the most loans since FY2024, with 74. Corp. Financiamiento Empresarial del Comercio y Comunidades (COFECC) follows with 61. The three CDCs listed are named on 171 loans between them.

**CDCs named on five or more 504 loans in Puerto Rico, FY2024 to June 2026**

| Certified Development Company | 504 loans |
| --- | --- |
| Marketing Small Business Finance Corporation | 74 |
| Corp. Financiamiento Empresarial del Comercio y Comunidades (COFECC) | 61 |
| PYMES Financial Partners, Inc. | 36 |

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/).

## Common questions about SBA loans in Puerto Rico

### Which lenders make the most SBA loans in Puerto Rico?

Banco Popular de Puerto Rico leads with 1,038 loans in Puerto Rico since FY2024. Oriental Bank (250) and FirstBank Puerto Rico (160) follow. 5 lenders had five or more loans approved.

### Do startups get SBA loans in Puerto Rico?

270 loans to startups were approved in Puerto Rico since FY2024, 18.1% of the total. The file lists approvals only, so it cannot show how many startups applied or were turned down.

### Does Puerto Rico have its own small business loan program?

Economic Development Bank for Puerto Rico (BDE) term loans and Impulso a Tu Negocio (SSBCI) are confirmed on official pages. The loan programs section above has the details.

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. 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/)
- [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)
- [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)(2); SOP 50 10 8.1, App. 18, Para. A.2 (p. 395)](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-13/section-120.214)