If you are shopping an SBA 7(a) or conventional commercial loan in Tennessee, 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 Tennessee-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.
Tennessee's banks spread across three distinct economies, with Memphis logistics, Nashville healthcare, and Knoxville manufacturing each pulling lenders a different direction.
The 15 most active commercial lenders in Tennessee
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 | Pinnacle Bank | Nashville | $128.8B | 27.6% | 1.20% | National-scale lender, an active C&I book. Loan book up 138% YoY. Top sectors funded in TN: Accommodation/Food Service (20 loans), Retail Trade (16 loans) |
| 2 | First Horizon Bank | Memphis | $84.1B | 25.0% | 1.40% | Coast-to-coast balance sheet, an active C&I book. Top sectors funded in TN: Administrative & Support (3 loans), Retail Trade (2 loans) |
| 3 | Firstbank | Nashville | $16.8B | 16.7% | 1.46% | Large multi-state regional, a steady commercial book. CRE-heavy book. Loan book up 30% YoY. |
| 4 | Smartbank | Pigeon Forge | $6.1B | 17.6% | 1.11% | Regional commercial bank, a steady commercial book. CRE-heavy book. Loan book up 14% YoY. Top sectors funded in TN: Accommodation/Food Service (2 loans) |
| 5 | Security Bank and Trust Company | Paris | $1.7B | 25.4% | 1.61% | Community bank, an active C&I book. Return on assets above 1.5 percent. Loan book up 19% YoY. |
| 6 | Insbank | Nashville | $1.1B | 31.9% | 0.94% | Local commercial lender, heavy C&I concentration. CRE-heavy book. Loan book up 15% YoY. |
| 7 | Bank of Tennessee | Kingsport | $2.3B | 10.1% | 1.78% | Community bank, a modest C&I share. Return on assets above 1.5 percent. Loan book up 16% YoY. |
| 8 | Paragon Bank | Memphis | $908M | 21.5% | 0.90% | Small local lender, an active C&I book. Loan book up 9% YoY. |
| 9 | The Hardin County Bank | Savannah | $677M | 33.3% | 1.30% | Small community bank, heavy C&I concentration. |
| 10 | Studio Bank | Nashville | $1.3B | 16.3% | 0.73% | Local commercial lender, a steady commercial book. CRE-heavy book. Loan book up 27% YoY. |
| 11 | Financial Federal Bank | Memphis | $1.1B | 14.2% | 1.01% | Community bank, a steady commercial book. CRE-heavy book. |
| 12 | Independent Bank | Memphis | $1.9B | 11.4% | 1.23% | Local commercial lender, a modest C&I share. |
| 13 | First Freedom Bank | Lebanon | $818M | 17.5% | 1.97% | Small community bank, a steady commercial book. Return on assets above 1.5 percent. Loan book up 12% YoY. |
| 14 | First Farmers and Merchants Bank | Columbia | $1.8B | 10.9% | 1.27% | Local commercial lender, a modest C&I share. CRE-heavy book. |
| 15 | Commercial Bank & Trust Company | Paris | $1.1B | 16.7% | 1.27% | Community bank, a steady commercial 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 Tennessee-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 Tennessee. Second, a capacity floor: we dropped every Tennessee-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 Tennessee, 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 Tennessee
The lenders that made the most SBA 7(a) and 504 loans to Tennessee businesses, federal fiscal year 2023 through June 30, 2026, counted from SBA's own loan-level data. National SBA platforms appear next to Tennessee's own banks because they lend here too.
332 SBA loans in Tennessee, $68.3M in total. Most often: Construction, Other Services.
305 SBA loans in Tennessee, $134.8M in total. Most often: Accommodation/Food Service, Other Services.
185 SBA loans in Tennessee, $74.3M in total. Most often: Other Services, Health Care.
133 SBA loans in Tennessee, $22.7M in total. Most often: Retail Trade, Health Care.
128 SBA loans in Tennessee, $24.5M in total. Most often: Professional Services, Construction.
112 SBA loans in Tennessee, $117.0M in total. Most often: Accommodation/Food Service, Retail Trade.
110 SBA loans in Tennessee, $15.7M in total. Most often: Retail Trade, Construction.
104 SBA loans in Tennessee, $141.7M in total. Most often: Health Care, Accommodation/Food Service.
86 SBA loans in Tennessee, $24.7M in total. Most often: Construction, Retail Trade.
61 SBA loans in Tennessee, $42.2M in total. Most often: Professional Services, Retail Trade.
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 Tennessee looks like for a borrower
Tennessee's banks spread across three distinct economies, with Memphis logistics, Nashville healthcare, and Knoxville manufacturing each pulling lenders a different direction.
The state's banking base totals $317.7B in assets across 109 charters, topped by Pinnacle Bank (Nashville) at $128.8B. Commercial appetite varies widely; the median Tennessee bank runs a 7.8% C&I share, and Pinnacle Bank leads on raw C&I dollars ($24.5B).
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: The Atlanta skyline by Lance Asper on Unsplash, used here as a regional editorial image for Tennessee.