If you are shopping an SBA 7(a) or conventional commercial loan in Massachusetts, 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 Massachusetts-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.
Massachusetts banks run from old Boston mutuals to specialty lenders chasing biotech and university-adjacent business, a barbell with little in the middle.
The 15 most active commercial lenders in Massachusetts
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 | Beacon Bank & Trust | Boston | $22.2B | 20.7% | 1.04% | Large multi-state regional, an active C&I book. CRE-heavy book. Loan book up 230% YoY. Top sectors funded in MA: Manufacturing (24 loans), Accommodation/Food Service (22 loans) |
| 2 | Eastern Bank | Boston | $31.1B | 14.4% | 1.13% | Large regional lender, a steady commercial book. Loan book up 27% YoY. Top sectors funded in MA: Construction (230 loans), Professional Services (156 loans) |
| 3 | Rockland Trust Company | Rockland | $25.0B | 10.3% | 1.41% | Large multi-state regional, a modest C&I share. CRE-heavy book. Loan book up 26% YoY. Top sectors funded in MA: Accommodation/Food Service (79 loans), Construction (78 loans) |
| 4 | Northern Bank & Trust Company | Woburn | $3.4B | 44.2% | 1.90% | Regional commercial bank, heavy C&I concentration. Return on assets above 1.5 percent. Top sectors funded in MA: Accommodation/Food Service (8 loans), Retail Trade (5 loans) |
| 5 | Needham Bank | Needham | $7.4B | 16.8% | 1.01% | Mid-size regional, a steady commercial book. CRE-heavy book. Loan book up 42% YoY. Top sectors funded in MA: Construction (20 loans), Retail Trade (11 loans) |
| 6 | Cambridge Savings Bank | Cambridge | $7.0B | 15.4% | 0.36% | Regional commercial bank, a steady commercial book. CRE-heavy book. |
| 7 | Avidia Bank | Hudson | $2.8B | 38.9% | 0.98% | Community bank, heavy C&I concentration. Built for commercial deals. |
| 8 | Salem Five Cents Savings Bank | Salem | $8.8B | 12.7% | 0.96% | Regional commercial bank, a steady commercial book. |
| 9 | South Shore Bank | South Weymouth | $2.5B | 18.2% | 0.71% | Community bank, a steady commercial book. CRE-heavy book. |
| 10 | Bankesb | Easthampton | $2.0B | 11.7% | 0.52% | Local commercial lender, a modest C&I share. CRE-heavy book. |
| 11 | North Easton Savings Bank | South Easton | $1.8B | 14.0% | 0.77% | Community bank, a steady commercial book. |
| 12 | Fidelity Co-operative Bank | Leominster | $1.3B | 16.8% | 0.80% | Local commercial lender, a steady commercial book. Loan book down 12% YoY. |
| 13 | Mutualone Bank | Framingham | $1.2B | 12.7% | 0.89% | Community bank, a steady commercial book. CRE-heavy book. Loan book down 16% YoY. |
| 14 | Stonehambank | Stoneham | $918M | 11.0% | 0.51% | Small local lender, a modest C&I share. CRE-heavy book. |
| 15 | Eagle Bank | Everett | $709M | 11.6% | 0.35% | Small community bank, a modest C&I share. CRE-heavy book. Loan book up 15% YoY. |
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 Massachusetts-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 Massachusetts. Second, a capacity floor: we dropped every Massachusetts-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, 15 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 Massachusetts, 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 Massachusetts
The lenders that made the most SBA 7(a) and 504 loans to Massachusetts businesses, federal fiscal year 2023 through June 30, 2026, counted from SBA's own loan-level data. National SBA platforms appear next to Massachusetts's own banks because they lend here too.
1,104 SBA loans in Massachusetts, $200.8M in total. Most often: Construction, Professional Services.
703 SBA loans in Massachusetts, $101.3M in total. Most often: Construction, Other Services.
440 SBA loans in Massachusetts, $171.7M in total. Most often: Accommodation/Food Service, Construction.
303 SBA loans in Massachusetts, $39.9M in total. Most often: Accommodation/Food Service, Construction.
217 SBA loans in Massachusetts, $57.8M in total. Most often: Construction, Health Care.
164 SBA loans in Massachusetts, $87.1M in total. Most often: Manufacturing, Accommodation/Food Service.
163 SBA loans in Massachusetts, $67.9M in total. Most often: Construction, Accommodation/Food Service.
138 SBA loans in Massachusetts, $61.2M in total. Most often: Accommodation/Food Service, Professional Services.
130 SBA loans in Massachusetts, $17.5M in total. Most often: Professional Services, Construction.
128 SBA loans in Massachusetts, $165.7M in total. Most often: Health Care, Other Services.
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 Massachusetts looks like for a borrower
Massachusetts banks run from old Boston mutuals to specialty lenders chasing biotech and university-adjacent business, a barbell with little in the middle.
Across 86 Massachusetts-headquartered banks sits $219.4B in total assets, anchored by Eastern Bank in Boston at $31.1B. Half the state's lenders hold more than 4.4% of their loans in C&I, half less; the ranking below pulls the most commercial-heavy to the top.
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: The Boston skyline by jacob Licht on Unsplash, used here as a regional editorial image for Massachusetts.