GLOSSARY

Charge-off

A charge-off is a loan the lender has written off as a loss because the borrower — here, a franchisee — could not repay it.

When a franchisee's business fails and the SBA loan behind it can't be repaid, the lender eventually "charges off" the balance. It means the lender stopped expecting repayment; it often follows a business closure, but the SBA file does not record why.

Each brand's charge-off rate is computed from the SBA's own FOIA records: charged-off loans as a share of all resolved loans (charged off + paid in full). A rate is published only when a brand has enough resolved loans for the number to mean something — a two-loan brand never gets a headline percentage.