Bell Bank: SBA Lending Profile
Bell Bank is an FDIC-insured bank, headquartered in Fargo, ND. It is active in 8 states, concentrated around MN, AZ, ND. Everything below comes from federal SBA loan records, not from the lender's marketing. This is what it has actually funded.
Loan sizes Bell Bank actually approves
The median SBA approval at Bell Bank is $389,800. The middle 80% of its loans fall between $99,300 and $2,057,140. The smallest funded approval in the available source window is $25,000 and the largest is $5,000,000. If the amount you need sits far outside that range, this is probably not the right first call, no matter what the website says.
Programs
| Program | Loans FY25-26 | Median size | Median rate | Median term |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SBA 7(a) | 98 | $390K | 8.75% | 10 years |
| 504 first mortgage (third party) | 15 | $603K | n/a | 20 years |
Industries it funds most
| Industry | Funded loans in source data | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Beauty Salons | 10 | 4% |
| Limited-Service Restaurants | 9 | 3.6% |
| Breweries | 9 | 3.6% |
| Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers | 8 | 3.2% |
| Landscaping Services | 6 | 2.4% |
| All Other Specialty Trade Contractors | 6 | 2.4% |
| Offices of Physicians (except Mental Health Specialists) | 5 | 2% |
| All Other Miscellaneous Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing | 5 | 2% |
| Electrical Contractors and Other Wiring Installation Contractors | 5 | 2% |
| Offices of Dentists | 4 | 1.6% |
| Wood Kitchen Cabinet and Countertop Manufacturing | 4 | 1.6% |
| Pharmacies and Drug Retailers | 4 | 1.6% |
How fast Bell Bank actually funds
Approval is not money in the bank. Across 234 loans where both dates are on record, the typical gap between SBA approval and first disbursement at Bell Bank is 11 days. Half its loans fund between 7 and 23 days. That is fast. The typical SBA lender takes about 20 days, and many take far longer.
Lending momentum
Bell Bank has held its SBA volume roughly steady from FY2023 to FY2025, a sign of a consistent, established program.
Funded approvals by SBA fiscal year (October to September). FY2026 is excluded because it is still in progress.
Conventional small business lending, beyond SBA
SBA loans are a fraction of most banks' small business lending. Under the Community Reinvestment Act, Bell Bank reported 1,650 small business loan originations in 2024, totaling $347M, at an average of about $211K per loan across 33 states. 36.5% of those loans went to businesses with under $1M in annual revenue.
Borrower profile
- 32.8% of its funded SBA records with known business age went to startups or businesses under two years old.
- Collateral was taken on 85.6% of its recent SBA loans.
- 32.8% of its SBA lending is revolving lines of credit rather than term loans.
- 7.2% of its loans carry fixed rates; the rest are variable.
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Sources and limits. Figures are derived from U.S. Small Business Administration 7(a) and 504 FOIA loan-level records (data as of 2026-06-30, retrieved 2026-08-08) and FDIC public institution data. Conventional small business lending figures from FFIEC CRA disclosure data (2024 activity year); CRA loan counts include business credit card originations at some institutions. Funding speed is the median gap between approval date and first disbursement date in SBA records. Some lenders report disbursement at month end, which can round the figure upward. They describe past lending activity only. They are not rate quotes, not current offers, and not an indication that any business will qualify. Lender programs and criteria change. Big Brain Funding is not affiliated with or endorsed by Bell Bank.