Ten Lenders Removed from USDA Guaranteed Programs: What Borrowers Should Check Now

On May 12, 2026, USDA revoked the approved lender status of ten institutions across its guaranteed programs: Bank of Montgomery, Byline Bank, Celtic Bank, Community Bank and Trust West Georgia, Genisys Credit Union, Greater Nevada Credit Union, North Avenue Capital, Optus Bank, U.S. Eagle Federal Credit Union, and ReadyCap Commercial, whose Lender's Agreement had already expired in January 2026. Per USDA's release, the removed lenders' portfolios held approximately $620 million in delinquent loans, accounting for roughly 47 percent of Rural Development's delinquent loans. Community Bank and Trust West Georgia had failed eleven days earlier, on May 1, 2026, the second U.S. bank failure of the year; the fuller account sits on our Georgia page.

Appeals are in early stages. Bank of Montgomery has retained counsel and appealed, Greater Nevada Credit Union has said it intends to seek an impartial review, and Genisys Credit Union has indicated it will pursue review; North Avenue Capital now operates as Veritex Government Lending. On June 5, 2026, Senator Joni Ernst asked the Small Business Administration to examine the records of these lenders, several of which are also active SBA participants. As of this writing, no appeal has been resolved.

A lender's removal does not void guarantees on loans that were properly closed; existing borrowers' guarantees stand. The practical impact lands on pipelines: a pending application with a removed lender needs a new originator, an updated package, and a reset of the underwriting clock. The impact also lands geographically. Michigan lost an in-state originator with Genisys, noted on our Michigan page, and concentration among remaining lenders is now a real variable in deal planning.

None of this is exotic diligence. It is the same verification standard the agency now applies to lenders, turned around for the borrower's benefit, and it takes an hour.

• Confirm the institution holds a current Lender's Agreement and active OneRD-approved status; non-regulated lenders face a re-approval requirement under the FY2026 framework, a point relevant to non-bank originators like the one behind New York's flagship hotel deal, profiled on our New York page.
• Look the lender up on USDA's Lender Lens dashboard, launched January 19, 2026 on the Rural Data Gateway, which publishes the OneRD portfolio to the loan level with monthly refreshes, including delinquency rates by lender.
• Ask the lender how many guaranteed loans it closed in the past twelve months in your asset class, and who services them. The answer distinguishes a program practitioner from an occasional participant.