If you are shopping an SBA 7(a) or conventional commercial loan in Alabama, the bank you call first matters more than most borrowers think. A lender that already writes a lot of commercial credit and sits in your state is structurally likelier to say yes than a national name passing through. This page ranks the Alabama-headquartered banks doing the most commercial lending right now, using public Q2 2026 FFIEC call-report data. It is the open-book version of what the paid report does with far more inputs.
Birmingham built its banking on steel money, and the regional lenders that outlasted the mills still write most of the state's commercial paper.
The 15 most active commercial lenders in Alabama
Ranked by commercial and industrial (C&I) loans outstanding, Q2 2026. Bank names link to the live BankingLens scorecard.
| # | Bank | City | Assets | C&I share | ROA | Fit notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Regions Bank | Birmingham | $159.8B | 27.5% | 1.46% | National-scale lender, an active C&I book. Top sectors funded in AL: Health Care (6 loans), Professional Services (5 loans) |
| 2 | Servisfirst Bank | Homewood | $18.3B | 21.0% | 1.88% | Large regional lender, an active C&I book. Return on assets above 1.5 percent. Loan book up 9% YoY. Top sectors funded in AL: Accommodation/Food Service (6 loans), Construction (3 loans) |
| 3 | Oakworth Capital Bank | Birmingham | $2.1B | 39.4% | 1.16% | Community bank, heavy C&I concentration. Built for commercial deals. Loan book up 15% YoY. Top sectors funded in AL: Retail Trade (4 loans), Wholesale Trade (2 loans) |
| 4 | Bank Independent | Sheffield | $2.9B | 22.8% | 0.63% | Local commercial lender, an active C&I book. CRE-heavy book. |
| 5 | River Bank & Trust | Prattville | $4.0B | 11.7% | 1.49% | Mid-size regional, a modest C&I share. Loan book up 11% YoY. Top sectors funded in AL: Retail Trade (9 loans), Professional Services (5 loans) |
| 6 | Commerceone Bank | Birmingham | $1.1B | 29.9% | -0.16% | Local commercial lender, an active C&I book. Thin current returns. |
| 7 | United Bank | Atmore | $1.5B | 21.1% | 1.30% | Community bank, an active C&I book. CRE-heavy book. |
| 8 | Southpoint Bank | Birmingham | $1.4B | 18.6% | -1.70% | Local commercial lender, a steady commercial book. CRE-heavy book. Loan book down 27% YoY. |
| 9 | Peoples Bank of Alabama | Cullman | $1.4B | 21.0% | 1.94% | Community bank, an active C&I book. Return on assets above 1.5 percent. |
| 10 | Cb&s Bank, Inc. | Russellville | $3.1B | 11.0% | 0.71% | Regional commercial bank, a modest C&I share. CRE-heavy book. Loan book up 14% YoY. |
| 11 | Troy Bank & Trust Company | Troy | $1.6B | 17.7% | 1.35% | Community bank, a steady commercial book. CRE-heavy book. |
| 12 | Bryant Bank | Tuscaloosa | $2.9B | 12.8% | 1.59% | Local commercial lender, a steady commercial book. Return on assets above 1.5 percent. |
| 13 | Traditions Bank | Cullman | $891M | 22.8% | 1.12% | Small community bank, an active C&I book. Loan book up 9% YoY. |
| 14 | First Bank of Alabama | Talladega | $1.4B | 16.3% | 1.34% | Local commercial lender, a steady commercial book. CRE-heavy book. Loan book up 15% YoY. |
| 15 | Citizens Bank & Trust | Guntersville | $1.2B | 12.0% | 0.61% | Community bank, a modest C&I share. CRE-heavy book. |
Assets and ratios are Q2 2026 FFIEC call-report figures. ROA is annualized return on assets. A bank's headquarters city is shown; many lend statewide and beyond.
C&I lending muscle, ranked
Commercial and industrial loans outstanding for the top 10 Alabama-HQ lenders, Q2 2026. This is the single number our ranking leans on hardest.
How we ranked these
Four steps, all of them transparent. First, we took every bank headquartered in Alabama. Second, a capacity floor: we dropped every Alabama-headquartered bank under $500M in total assets, because a smaller balance sheet rarely anchors a primary SBA 7(a) relationship. Third, an active-originator floor: we kept only banks whose commercial and industrial (C&I) loans are at least 10 percent of the loan book (a bank that is 90 percent home mortgages is not your SBA lender, regardless of size). Of the banks clearing both floors, 24 made the active list. Fourth, we ranked them by C&I loan dollars outstanding, which already blends balance-sheet size with how committed a bank is to commercial credit, and kept the top 15. Where the call report reports it, the fit notes also flag year-over-year loan-book growth as a rough read on whether a bank is leaning into lending or pulling back; the FFIEC filing does not break out SBA or C&I growth on its own, so treat that as directional, not precise.
Smaller banks may also fund your loan but rank below the active list.
The SBA section below ranks separately: it counts the SBA 7(a) and 504 loans each lender actually made in Alabama, from SBA's own loan data, whatever state the lender is based in.
This table is an honest, simplified proxy. The call report does not show a bank's SBA volume or its appetite for your industry; the SBA section shows volume, but not which lender fits your deal. The $49 Borrower Assist report folds all of that in and ranks against your specific deal, not just your state. That is the part worth paying for.
Most active SBA lenders in Alabama
The lenders that made the most SBA 7(a) and 504 loans to Alabama businesses, federal fiscal year 2023 through June 30, 2026, counted from SBA's own loan-level data. National SBA platforms appear next to Alabama's own banks because they lend here too.
132 SBA loans in Alabama, $71.2M in total. Most often: Accommodation/Food Service, Other Services.
117 SBA loans in Alabama, $43.4M in total. Most often: Accommodation/Food Service, Construction.
86 SBA loans in Alabama, $128.4M in total. Most often: Agriculture, Accommodation/Food Service.
75 SBA loans in Alabama, $11.9M in total. Most often: Accommodation/Food Service, Other Services.
70 SBA loans in Alabama, $8.4M in total. Most often: Construction, Retail Trade.
67 SBA loans in Alabama, $10.0M in total. Most often: Professional Services, Health Care.
64 SBA loans in Alabama, $7.3M in total. Most often: Transportation & Warehousing, Other Services.
59 SBA loans in Alabama, $24.0M in total. Most often: Construction, Accommodation/Food Service.
38 SBA loans in Alabama, $16.7M in total. Most often: Construction, Retail Trade.
37 SBA loans in Alabama, $10.0M in total. Most often: Accommodation/Food Service, Health Care.
Source: U.S. Small Business Administration 7(a) and 504 loan data, refreshed monthly. Ranked by number of loans. Lenders that have since merged count toward the bank that acquired them.
What Alabama looks like for a borrower
Birmingham built its banking on steel money, and the regional lenders that outlasted the mills still write most of the state's commercial paper.
The state's banking base totals $230.0B in assets across 93 charters, topped by Regions Bank (Birmingham) at $159.8B. Commercial appetite varies widely; the median Alabama bank runs a 13.9% C&I share, and Regions Bank leads on raw C&I dollars ($27.5B).
None of that tells you which of these banks will fund your specific deal. A $400,000 restaurant acquisition and a $4M owner-occupied warehouse purchase have different optimal lender lists even in the same state, and the ranking above does not split by loan size, industry, or collateral. Treat it as your starting shortlist, not your final answer.
How to use this list
- Start with the bank near you that has the strongest commercial profile, not just the closest branch. A lender with a real C&I book understands your deal faster.
- Ask for the SBA or commercial lending group directly. The general line routes business deals slowly.
- Have a one-page summary ready: use of funds, cash flow, collateral, owner credit, timeline. Banks decide whether to engage in the first ninety seconds.
- Run two banks in parallel, not five. Two real conversations close a loan; five waste everyone's time.
Hero photo: Downtown Atlanta by Joey Kyber on Unsplash, used here as a regional editorial image for Alabama.