ALABAMA · SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA · FY1991–PRESENT
Franchises in Alabama: the loan record
Since 1991, banks have made 1,638 SBA-backed loans to franchisees of 346 brands in Alabama. SBA loans to Alabama franchisees approved through FY2020 defaulted at a rate not clearly different from franchise loans made in the same years nationally: 171 charge-offs among 985 resolved loans, where about 154 would be expected (1.1×).
Evidence, all years: 175 of 1,042 resolved loans were charged off (raw rate 16.8%). The raw rate mixes loans from every era, including the 2006–08 loans that met the recession, so it is not compared with anything here. Borrowers are matched to brands by name, so some matches may be wrong.
1,638
SBA loans since 1991
346
Brands financed
1.1×
Loss ratio vs same-year loans (not clear)
31.8
Loans per 100k residents
Every SBA 7(a) and 504 loan in the FY1991–present FOIA files (data.sba.gov) whose borrower is matched to a franchise brand and whose borrower state is Alabama. Fuel-supply contracts, insurance agencies and other SBA codes that are not franchises a buyer can purchase are excluded. Totals count every such loan, including brands with too few loans here to list. The loss ratio compares charge-offs among loans approved through FY2020 (old enough that most failures have surfaced) with the charge-offs expected if each loan had defaulted at the national rate for franchise loans approved the same year; 1.0× means the same as same-year franchise loans. Only charged-off and paid-in-full loans count, so still-open loans never dilute it. A ratio prints at 30+ resolved loans; “not clear” marks a ratio that chance alone could produce. Local conditions and lender mix sit inside these numbers; read a brand's national record and its FDD before concluding anything.
A broker is usually paid by the franchisor to place you. I'm paid only by you, never by a franchisor you're considering — and the job is pressure-testing the numbers, including talking you out of a bad deal.