Vol. I · No. 1 · Est. 2026 Wednesday, July 2, 2026 shanepierson.com · Free of charge
The Record 2,174,502 loans read, FY1991 to H1 FY2026

Purveyor of Honest Capital

Shane Pierson

Honest Capital One straight finding every other Tuesday

Shane Pierson·The Honest Read on SBA Lending·Ink on Paper, No Sales Pitch

2,174,502 loans|FY1991 to H1 FY2026|295 claims verified|112 sources|159 citations

The Lead · Plate A

The honest read on SBA lending.

I move this capital to Main Street for a living, then I publish what the data actually shows, no sales pitch attached. Start with the map, or get one straight finding in your inbox every other Tuesday.

By Shane Pierson · From the federal loan record

Open the live map or clip the coupon first
Interactive Fig. 1 · The Loan Map
Plate A. A halftone engraving of the record: one dot per square of map, sized by the count of 7(a) and 504 loans beneath it, FY1991 to H1 FY2026. The live plate shades by dollars, growth, and deal size, and drills to the zip level. Source: SBA 7(a) and 504 FOIA
Engraved from the data by the publisher

No. 001 · cut along the dotted line

Honest Capital

One straight finding from the loan record, every other Tuesday.

Free. Written by me, not a content team. Unsubscribe in one click.

Section BThe Data Desk

What the record gives away free

  • The State of SBA Lending

    The flagship report. Where the capital went, who moved it, and what changed underneath the headlines. Free, in full.

    Flagship

  • Ten Questions, Answered From the Record

    The arguments borrowers and lenders keep having, settled against the data with the work shown.

    Question desk

  • The Charts Behind the Claims

    Every exhibit from the report, sized to be read, sourced to be checked, free to be argued with.

    Exhibits

  • SBA Lending, State by State

    Every state ranked and mapped: loans, dollars, growth, distress, and the industries and lenders behind them.

    By state

  • SBA Lenders, Ranked

    The most active 7(a) lenders in the country, with volume, average size, markets, and who is gaining share.

    By lender

  • SBA Loans by Industry

    What the program actually funds, by business type: volume, default rates, and the lenders behind each niche.

    By industry

Section CWriting

Published in Scotsman Guide and here

All writing

Section DAbout

Why this page exists

I’m Shane. I lend SBA money for a living, and I publish what I learn doing it. Some of that is data work, some of it is essays, and some of it is telling a borrower not to take the loan I sell. The tools on this page are free because they earn your attention. The newsletter is where I keep it.

By day I move 7(a) and 504 capital to the businesses that hold Main Street together. The rest of the time I build software and raise three kids who are learning to ship real things of their own.

One standard governs the whole page: nothing prints here unless it traces to a primary source, with the date and the denominator attached.* I built the checking machinery myself, and it is pickier than I am.

* If you catch an error, tell me and I will fix it in public. The coupon above is the easiest way to hold me to that: clip it and every correction reaches you first.

Shane Pierson signature Shane Pierson · Publisher
Shane Pierson, away from the desk
The publisher, away from the desk

Section EVentures

Placed by the publisher

Five ventures, one worldview: build the thing, keep it honest, and let the work speak. Each has its own page.