Which franchises' SBA loans defaulted least, compared with loans made in the same years?

Loss ratio = actual ÷ expected charge-offs. "Expected" applies the charge-off rate of every SBA franchise-flagged 7(a)/504 loan approved in the same fiscal year to each of the brand's resolved loans, so a brand that borrowed in 2006–08 is compared with 2006–08 loans, not with 2012 loans. Only loans approved in FY2020 or earlier count (at least about six years old, past the typical ~5-year time to default), and only resolved loans — charged off or paid in full — on both sides. A brand needs at least 30 such loans, and the list includes only brands whose difference from 1.0× is statistically clear (one-sided Poisson test, p < 0.05). Fuel supply contracts, insurance agencies, vehicle dealerships and direct-selling programs that the SBA codes as franchises are excluded: nobody buys them under an FDD. A charge-off is a loan loss, not proof a business closed, and loans reflect the lender and borrower as well as the brand.

Universe: every franchise brand matched in the U.S. Small Business Administration's 7(a) and 504 loan FOIA files, fiscal 1991 to present, excluding SBA franchise codes that are not franchises a buyer can purchase (fuel supply contracts, insurance agencies, vehicle dealerships, direct selling) (data.sba.gov). This is federal public-record data about loans to franchisees — independent of anything the franchisor discloses. Brand links lead to the full sourced profile where one exists. See the site methodology for name-matching and cohort rules.