County directory · South Carolina
CDFI lenders in Richland County, SC
5 are headquartered here. 4 more have a bank or credit-union branch here. 5 more say they serve all of South Carolina. Sources: lender websites (29 Oct 2026–4 Nov 2026), the CDFI Fund list (21 Oct 2026) and FDIC/NCUA branch records.
- Name this county
- 0
- Based here
- 5
- Branch here
- 4
- Serve all of SC
- 5
None of the lender websites we read names Richland County; the lenders below are based here, have an office here or serve the whole state. Lenders based elsewhere may lend here too. Search your exact ZIP code in the finder to include lenders based nearby. Towns in this county: Ballentine, Blythewood, Columbia, Eastover, Gadsden, Hopkins, Irmo, State Park, White Rock.
Lenders compared for Richland County
11 with local records| Lender | Local records | Loan sizes | Head office |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Security Federal Bank Bank or thrift, Aiken SC | 3 offices here; 6 SBA loans here, FY2020–FY2026; 9 home loans here, 2025 | ask | 53 mi |
| 2. Business Development Corp of SC Loan fund, Columbia SC | headquarters here; 8 SBA loans here, FY2020–FY2026 | up to $5.5M | 7 mi |
| 3. Spero Financial Federal Credit Union Credit union, Greenville SC | 1 office here; 7 home loans here, 2025 | ask | 99 mi |
| 4. Caro Federal Credit Union Credit union, Columbia SC | headquarters here; 3 offices here | ask | 5 mi |
| 5. Optus Financial Corporation Bank holding company, Columbia SC | headquarters here; 2 offices here | ask | 3 mi |
| 6. Optus Bank Bank or thrift, Columbia SC | headquarters here; 2 offices here | ask | 3 mi |
| 7. Champions Funding, LLC Loan fund, Gilbert AZ | 12 home loans here, 2025 | up to $3M | 1,761 mi |
| 8. Security Federal Corporation Bank holding company, Aiken SC | 3 offices here | ask | 53 mi |
| 9. MortgageOne, Inc Loan fund, Carlsbad CA | 3 home loans here, 2025 | $25,000–$2M | 2,079 mi |
| 10. Self-Help Federal Credit Union Credit union, Durham NC | 1 office here | ask | 185 mi |
| 11. Midlands Housing Trust Fund Loan fund, Columbia SC | headquarters here | $10,000–$250,000 | 3 mi |
9 of these 11 lenders have received CDFI Fund awards, together $50.8M in fiscal years 2004–2024 (CDFI Fund award database; each lender page lists its awards). An award funds the lender, not a particular borrower.
Order: how many kinds of local record we hold (its website names the county or a town in it, headquarters, a branch, SBA loans or HMDA home loans for borrowers here), then the number of those records, then the head office's distance from the county centre. Loan sizes are the range the lender's website states. It is not a rating and nobody pays for a place. SBA loans: SBA 7(a)/504 data (FY2020–FY2026, 3 or more shown); home loans: HMDA 2025 originations (3 or more shown); branches: FDIC/NCUA; distances are straight lines from the average position of the county's ZIP codes.
Where these lenders have offices
9 lenders5 head offices and 16 branches or offices of 9 lenders on this page, within 30 miles of the centre of Richland County. Lenders with no office nearby may still lend here; many work by phone and online.
Head officeBranch or officeApproximate (ZIP code area)
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors, © OpenMapTiles, tiles OpenFreeMap. Head-office points: U.S. Census Bureau geocoder.
Loan types confirmed on these lenders' websites
- Commercial real estate loans (3 lenders)
- SBA-backed loans (7(a)/504/Community Advantage) (3 lenders)
- Small-business loans (3 lenders)
- Auto / vehicle loans (2 lenders)
- Energy / solar / efficiency loans (2 lenders)
- Equipment loans (2 lenders)
- Home mortgages (2 lenders)
- Personal / consumer loans (2 lenders)
Banks and credit unions with a branch in this county
7 certified CDFIs have at least one office in Richland County (FDIC office data as of 30 Oct 2026 and NCUA branch data as of 30 Jun 2026). A branch shows presence, not a stated service area; credit unions also require membership.
- Caro Federal Credit UnionCredit union · Columbia, SC3 offices in Richland County · based hereOfficial list only
- Security Federal BankBank or thrift · Aiken, SCAuto / vehicle loans, Home mortgages, Personal / consumer loans, SBA-backed loans (7(a)/504/Community Advantage)3 offices in Richland CountyVerified
- Security Federal CorporationBank holding company · Aiken, SCAuto / vehicle loans, Home mortgages, Personal / consumer loans, SBA-backed loans (7(a)/504/Community Advantage)3 offices in Richland CountyVerified
- Optus BankBank or thrift · Columbia, SCAuto / vehicle loans, Commercial real estate loans, Energy / solar / efficiency loans, Equipment loans…2 offices in Richland County · based hereVerified
- Optus Financial CorporationBank holding company · Columbia, SCAuto / vehicle loans, Commercial real estate loans, Energy / solar / efficiency loans, Equipment loans…2 offices in Richland County · based hereVerified
- Self-Help Federal Credit UnionCredit union · Durham, NC1 office in Richland CountyVerified
- Spero Financial Federal Credit UnionCredit union · Greenville, SCAuto / vehicle loans, Commercial real estate loans, Home mortgages, Personal / consumer loans…1 office in Richland CountyVerified
CDFI mortgage lenders active here
Certified CDFIs reported 37 originated home loans for properties in Richland County in 2025 under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act: 0.4% of the 10,402 home loans that all HMDA lenders reported here.
- Champions Funding, LLCLoan fund · Gilbert, AZHome mortgages12 home loans here in 2025 (HMDA)Verified
- Security Federal BankBank or thrift · Aiken, SCAuto / vehicle loans, Home mortgages, Personal / consumer loans, SBA-backed loans (7(a)/504/Community Advantage)9 home loans here in 2025 (HMDA)Verified
- Spero Financial Federal Credit UnionCredit union · Greenville, SCAuto / vehicle loans, Commercial real estate loans, Home mortgages, Personal / consumer loans…7 home loans here in 2025 (HMDA)Verified
- MortgageOne, IncLoan fund · Carlsbad, CAHome mortgages3 home loans here in 2025 (HMDA)Verified
Plus 5 more certified CDFIs with fewer than 3 loans here each (not listed).
A lender headquartered far away can appear here: HMDA counts the county of the property, not of the lender. Banks and credit unions below the HMDA reporting thresholds and most loan funds do not report, so other CDFIs may also lend here.
Source: FFIEC Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data for 2025, snapshot frozen 2 Jun 2026, loan-level records read through the CFPB HMDA Data Browser API on 3 Nov 2026. Originated loans only; applications that were denied, withdrawn or not accepted are not counted. HMDA publishes each loan amount as the middle of a $10,000 band, so totals and medians are approximate. Counts under 3 are not shown. How we match lenders.
Small business and SBA lending in Richland County
Official statisticsMedian household income in Richland County is $63,784, 8% below the South Carolina figure of $69,324 (ACS 2020–2024).
Businesses here took 33.0 SBA-backed loans per 1,000 employer businesses over FY2020–FY2026: more than the median South Carolina county (26.5), rank 16 of 46.
| Measure | Richland County | South Carolina |
|---|---|---|
| Businesses with paid employees (CBP 2023) | 9,426 (7.7% of the state) | 122,958 |
| …of which under 20 employees | 83% | 85% |
| Businesses without employees (Nonemployer Statistics 2023) | 34,126 | 445,689 |
| Median household income (ACS 2020–2024) | $63,784 (8% below the state) | $69,324 |
| SBA 7(a) and 504 approvals, all lenders, FY2020–FY2026 | 311 (294 7(a), 17 504) | 4,268 |
| …per 1,000 businesses with employees | 33.0 (rank 16 of 46 South Carolina counties) | 26.5 (median county) |
| Median SBA 7(a) loan, all lenders | $217,500 | $300,000 |
| …with a certified CDFI as lender, CDC or third-party lender | 19 (6%) | 107 (3%) |
| Variable-rate 7(a): median rate over prime at approval, FY2024–26 | 2.75 pts (141 loans; 11% at the SBA maximum) | 2.75 pts (11% at the maximum) |
Approvals by fiscal year: FY2020 31 · FY2021 43 · FY2022 27 · FY2023 50 · FY2024 62 · FY2025 60 · FY2026 38.
For comparison, not an offer. SBA figures count approvals by every SBA lender for borrowers whose ZIP code lies in the county, not only CDFIs; approval is not disbursement. Rate over prime = the SBA's recorded initial rate minus the prime rate on the approval day; SBA caps it at 3 to 6.5 points depending on loan size (current prime rate and caps: methodology).
Sources: Census Bureau County Business Patterns 2023, Nonemployer Statistics 2023 and American Community Survey 2020–2024 (table B19013); SBA 7(a) & 504 FOIA data as of 30 Sep 2026; prime rate: FRED DPRIME; SBA maximums: SBA 7(a) terms. Downloaded 15 Nov 2026. How we compute these.
SBA loans made here by CDFIs
SBA data as of 30 Sep 2026Certified CDFIs were the lender, the CDC or the third-party lender on 19 SBA approvals (19 7(a) loans) for borrowers in Richland County in fiscal years 2020–2026, from 6 CDFIs. The 7(a) loans total $16.7M approved.
CDFIs with 3 or more: Business Development Corp of SC (8), Security Federal Bank (6). 4 more CDFIs made 1 or 2 each.
Counted by the county of the borrower's ZIP code. Approval is not disbursement. These are only the SBA loans of certified CDFIs; most SBA lenders here are not CDFIs, and CDFIs also lend outside SBA programs.
Source: U.S. Small Business Administration, 7(a) & 504 FOIA loan data, files as of 30 Sep 2026, downloaded 3 Nov 2026. Our counts, cancelled approvals left out. How we match lenders.
CDFI lending recorded here (FY2022)
CDFI Fund data, released Dec 2024137 loans and investments totaling $29M (median $75,000) were reported to the CDFI Fund for borrowers and projects in Richland County in fiscal year 2022, by 16 reporting CDFIs.
| Purpose (CDFI Fund category) | Count | Total | Median |
|---|---|---|---|
| None of the listed purposes | 35 | $1.9M | $47,500 |
| Home purchase | 30 | $8.2M | $215,850 |
| Non-real estate microenterprise | 19 | $100,695 | $4,900 |
| Non-real estate business | 19 | $11.4M | $300,000 |
| Real estate: single-family housing construction | 18 | $2.6M | $109,000 |
| Home improvement | 14 | $1.7M | $100,000 |
Of 48 individual borrowers whose income was reported, 77% had family income at or below 80% of the area median.
CDFI banks and credit unions also reported 2,293 consumer loans in Richland County totaling $13.5M (Consumer Loan Report, tract totals, so no median); they counted 16% of them as serving low-income borrowers.
Loans and investments reported in other years: FY2018 144 · FY2019 88 · FY2020 570 · FY2021 2,554.
Only CDFIs that hold an active CDFI Fund award (CDFI Program, Native American CDFI Assistance or the CDFI Rapid Response Program) report these transactions, so this is not all lending by the certified CDFIs on this page. The Fund masks which CDFI made each loan, so we cannot say which lender listed here made them.
Source: CDFI Fund, CDFI/NACA/CDFI RRP Program Award Recipient Data Release, Transaction Level Report and Consumer Loan Report public files for fiscal year 2022 (released Dec 2024; downloaded 3 Nov 2026). Amounts are original loan or investment amounts as reported. Place = the 2010 census tract of each record. How we count.
Headquartered in Richland County
The official list gives a headquarters address here. Check each lender's page for where it lends.
- Business Development Corp of SCLoan fund · Columbia, SCCommercial real estate loans, SBA-backed loans (7(a)/504/Community Advantage), Small-business loansVerified
- Midlands Housing Trust FundLoan fund · Columbia, SCAffordable housing development loansVerified
- Optus BankBank or thrift · Columbia, SCAuto / vehicle loans, Commercial real estate loans, Energy / solar / efficiency loans, Equipment loans…Verified
- Optus Financial CorporationBank holding company · Columbia, SCAuto / vehicle loans, Commercial real estate loans, Energy / solar / efficiency loans, Equipment loans…Verified
- Caro Federal Credit UnionCredit union · Columbia, SCOfficial list only
Say they serve all of South Carolina
- CLIMB FundLoan fund · Charleston, SCCommercial real estate loans, Microloans, Small-business loansVerified
- CommunityWorksLoan fund · Greenville, SCCredit-builder loans, Microloans, Small-business loansVerified
- EDISTO FEDERAL CREDIT UNIONCredit union · Orangeburg, SCVerified
- Self-Help Federal Credit UnionCredit union · Durham, NCVerified
- South Carolina Community Loan FundLoan fund · Charleston, SCAffordable housing development loans, Nonprofit / community facility loans, Small-business loansVerified
Free help before you apply
These offices give free or low-cost advice: a Small Business Development Center or SCORE mentor can help with the business plan, cash-flow projections and paperwork most business lenders ask for, and a HUD-approved housing counselor can help with a homebuyer course, a budget or a missed mortgage payment. Some counseling agencies also lend; using their advice does not commit you to their loans. Call ahead to check hours and what they cover.
Business advice
- Columbia Area Small Business Development CenterSmall Business Development Center · 1225 Laurel Street, Columbia, SC 29201803-777-5118
- South Carolina Small Business Development CenterSmall Business Development Center · 1014 Greene Street, Moore School of Business, Columbia, SC 29208803-777-4907
- Midlands SCORESCORE mentoring · 1225 Laurel Street, Ste. 410, Columbia, SC 29201803-545-3826
- Benedict College WBCWomen's Business Center · 1600 Harden Street, Columbia, SC 29204803-705-4641
- SBA Columbia - Main office officeSBA district office · 1835 Assembly St., Suite 1425, Columbia, SC 29201803-765-5377
Housing counseling
Sources: SBA local assistance listings, read 6 Nov 2026; HUD's list of approved housing counseling agencies (open-data version last updated 9 Apr 2025). For the current list and the services each agency offers, use the CFPB's housing counselor search (it uses HUD's list) or call HUD at 800-569-4287. Offices are placed by ZIP code, so distances are approximate.
City pages in Richland County
Other South Carolina counties
Source: CDFI Atlas, cdfiatlas.com/states/sc/counties/richland-county/. © 2026 CDFI Atlas. Quoting with a link is welcome; republishing the pages or the compiled data is not (terms of use).