Every year, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) publishes loan data broken down by geography and lending activity. The information provides a snapshot of how federal small-business lending is distributed across states and regions. What the Louisiana data does not consistently provide is a breakdown of borrowers by race or ethnicity.
In fiscal year 2025, the SBA approved 624 loans totaling $348.7 million across Louisiana. The congressional district covering New Orleans and Metairie accounted for 104 of those loans, worth $48.4 million. While these figures show the scale of lending activity, they do not indicate how much of that funding went to Hispanic-owned businesses in the state.
National SBA data provides additional context. Across the United States, Hispanic-owned businesses accounted for 11.3 percent of SBA 7(a) loans approved in FY2025 but received 7.7 percent of the total dollars distributed through the program. The average loan size for Hispanic-owned firms was $326,897, compared with $427,422 for white-owned firms.
A difference in average loan size does not, by itself, explain why the gap exists. Public SBA data does not control for factors such as business size, industry, revenue, collateral, credit history, or borrowing needs.
For example, two businesses may both qualify for financing while seeking different loan amounts based on their size, operating history, or expansion plans. Publicly available SBA data does not provide enough information to determine how much these factors contribute to differences observed across demographic groups.
The available data shows that average loan sizes and total loan dollars vary across borrower groups. It does not show the extent to which those differences are driven by business characteristics, applicant demand, lending practices, or other factors.
For Louisiana, the larger limitation is the absence of detailed demographic reporting at the state level. While overall lending activity can be measured, public records provide only a limited view of how different communities participate in federal small-business lending programs.
As policymakers, lenders, and business organizations continue to focus on entrepreneurship and economic growth, access to transparent data remains an important part of understanding how these programs operate and whom they serve.
Source: SBA Office of Capital Access, FY2025 Year-End Activity Reports (data.sba.gov)
