Encore Bank: SBA Lending Profile
Encore Bank is an FDIC-insured bank, headquartered in Little Rock, AR. It is active in 15 states, concentrated around TX, FL, AR. Everything below comes from federal SBA loan records, not from the lender's marketing. This is what it has actually funded.
Loan sizes Encore Bank actually approves
The median SBA approval at Encore Bank is $457,000. The middle 80% of its loans fall between $100,000 and $1,755,600. The smallest approval on record since 2020 is $15,000 and the largest is $4,550,000. 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) | 52 | $457K | 9.25% | 10 years |
| 504 first mortgage (third party) | 3 | $1.3M | n/a | 25 years |
Industries it funds most
| Industry | Loans since 2020 | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Beauty Salons | 10 | 7.3% |
| Limited-Service Restaurants | 9 | 6.6% |
| Other Services to Buildings and Dwellings | 9 | 6.6% |
| Full-Service Restaurants | 7 | 5.1% |
| Pharmacies and Drug Retailers | 5 | 3.6% |
| Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers | 5 | 3.6% |
| Offices of All Other Miscellaneous Health Practitioners | 4 | 2.9% |
| All Other Amusement and Recreation Industries | 4 | 2.9% |
| Other Computer Related Services | 4 | 2.9% |
| Commercial Printing (except Screen and Books) | 3 | 2.2% |
| Highway, Street, and Bridge Construction | 3 | 2.2% |
| Public Relations Agencies | 3 | 2.2% |
Conventional small business lending, beyond SBA
SBA loans are a fraction of most banks' small business lending. Under the Community Reinvestment Act, Encore Bank reported 523 small business loan originations in 2024, totaling $143M, at an average of about $274K per loan across 22 states. 62% of those loans went to businesses with under $1M in annual revenue.
Borrower profile
- 56.9% of its recent SBA loans went to startups or businesses under two years old, which is high, most SBA lenders skew heavily toward established companies.
- Collateral was taken on 74.5% of its recent SBA loans.
- 24.8% of its SBA lending is revolving lines of credit rather than term loans.
- 0.7% of its loans carry fixed rates; the rest are variable.
Smarter Business Funding
Find out what your business could qualify for
Answer six quick questions and get your business funding profile. We match it against real SBA lending records and follow up personally. No credit check, about 60 seconds.
Start your funding profile →Owner Experiences
Worked with Encore Bank? Tell other owners.
Real experiences from business owners help others pick the right lender. Reviews are screened before publishing. We never pay for reviews, and lenders cannot pay to change or remove them.
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. 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 Encore Bank.