For SBA lenders
Short answer
No, an existing bank account of the acquired business cannot count as a borrower's equity injection unless it can be explicitly documented as an injection of new cash funds from the borrower and not existing business assets.
Equity injection must represent new funds brought into the business by the borrower from eligible, unencumbered sources. Using existing cash of the acquired business would not represent a new equity infusion and is generally disallowed.
A borrower is acquiring a business that has $20,000 cash in its operating account. The borrower needs to inject $50,000. The $20,000 cannot be counted. The borrower must bring in $50,000 of their own separate, new funds.
13 CFR Part 120 — Business Loans
Office of the Federal Register · Federal regulation
SOP 50 10 - Lender and Development Company Loan Programs
Last checked 2026-06-13. Official sources control — verify before relying on any rule for a live deal.
Last reviewed 2026-06-13 · SBA sources checked through 2026-06-13. DealRoom analysis of public SBA 7(a) lending records (FY2020–present). Grounded in the current SBA rulebook; verify against the official sources above before relying on it for a live deal. Not legal, tax, or financial advice, and not an approval decision.
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