Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Live Oak Banking Company that provides various commercial banking products and services to individuals, small businesses, and professionals in North Carolina, the United States. The company accepts various deposit products, including noninterest-bearing demand, as well as interest-bearing checking, money market, savings, and time deposits. It also offers commercial and industrial loans; construction and development loans; owner occupied and non-owner occupied collateral commercial real estate loans; and commercial land loans. In addition, the company provides settlement, accounting, and securitization services for government guaranteed loans; wealth and investment management services to high-net-worth individuals and families; investment advisory services to a series of funds focused on providing venture capital to new and emerging financial technology companies; and an on-site restaurant location to company employees and business visitors. Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. was incorporated in 2008 and is headquartered in Wilmington, North Carolina.
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1. SoFi for small businesses.
2. Ally Bank, but focused on high-tech small business lending.
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- SBA Loans: Specializing in government-guaranteed loans for small businesses across various targeted industries.
- Commercial Loans: Providing traditional business loans, including commercial and industrial (C&I) and commercial real estate (CRE) financing.
- Deposit Accounts: Offering a range of personal and business deposit products, such as checking, savings, money market, and certificates of deposit.
- Treasury Management Services: Delivering cash management solutions to help businesses optimize their financial operations.
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Live Oak Bancshares (LOB) is a bank holding company whose primary business, through its subsidiary Live Oak Bank, is providing financial products and services, predominantly loans, to other companies (small businesses). It does not have a small number of major public company customers that can be individually listed with symbols.
Instead, Live Oak Bank focuses on serving a large and diverse base of small, privately-owned businesses across specific industries and sectors. While the prompt asks for specific company names for B2B customers, given the nature of banking to numerous small businesses, it is more appropriate and informative to describe the key customer categories that Live Oak Bancshares targets:
- Healthcare Professionals: Live Oak Bank has a strong focus on lending to practices such as dentists, veterinarians, optometrists, and independent pharmacists.
- Niche Service Businesses: This category includes businesses like self-storage facilities, funeral homes, independent insurance agencies, and family entertainment centers.
- Specialty Industries: The bank also targets specific growth sectors such as craft breweries and distilleries, wineries, and specific agricultural ventures.
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- nCino (NCNO)
- Fiserv (FISV)
- Amazon Web Services (AMZN)
- Salesforce (CRM)
- Equifax (EFX)
- TransUnion (TRU)
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James S. (Chip) Mahan III Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Chip Mahan has a long history of founding and managing financial technology companies. He founded and currently serves as CEO and Chairman of Live Oak Bancshares. Prior to Live Oak, he was the CEO and chairman of S1 Corporation and the founder of Security First Network Bank, which was one of the world's first internet banks. He also launched Cardinal Bancshares, which he built into an institution with approximately $675 million in total assets and took public in 1992. In 1986, he formed an investment group that purchased Citizens Union National Bank & Trust Co., and subsequently sold it to BankOne Corp. Mahan is also a managing partner and co-founder of Canapi Ventures, a venture capital firm focused on financial technology companies, indicating a pattern of involvement with companies backed by venture capital. He is also a co-founder of nCino, Apiture, Finxact, and Payrailz.
Walter J. Phifer Chief Financial Officer
Walter Phifer serves as Chief Financial Officer of Live Oak Bancshares and Live Oak Bank, a role he assumed in November 2023. He joined Live Oak in 2015 and has 19 years of experience in the financial industry, including various finance, treasury, accounting, audit, and deposit analytic roles. Before becoming CFO, he served as Treasurer and Head of Finance, Planning and Analysis. Prior to joining Live Oak, Phifer was the Deposits Finance Manager at Barclays US, where he managed the finances and data analytics of a $10 billion deposit portfolio. He began his career in external audit at Deloitte.
William C. (BJ) Losch III President
BJ Losch serves as President of Live Oak Bancshares and Live Oak Bank, a position he was named to in August 2023. He previously served as the Chief Financial Officer of Live Oak Bancshares. Losch joined Live Oak in 2021 as CFO and in 2022 was also named Chief Banking Officer, leading customer-facing sales, support, and operational groups. Prior to joining Live Oak, Losch spent 12 years at First Horizon Corporation as senior executive vice president and CFO, where he oversaw all financial activities, strategic planning, investor relations, corporate development/M&A, fintech ventures, corporate properties, and procurement. He also held senior roles at First Union and Wachovia.
Neil L. Underwood Co-Founder & Director (formerly President)
Neil Underwood is a co-founder and active Director of Live Oak Bank, and previously served as its President until November 2023. He is also a co-founder and General Partner of Canapi Ventures, a strategic fintech venture fund, demonstrating a strong pattern of involvement with venture-backed companies. While at Live Oak, he co-founded nCino, a cloud-based bank operating system. Through Live Oak's venture arm, Underwood helped incubate companies focused on digital bank transformation, including Finxact, Payrailz, DefenseStorm, and Greenlight. In 2017, he co-founded Apiture, a joint venture between Live Oak and First Data. Prior to Live Oak, Underwood served as general manager of S1 Corporation.
William L. Williams III Vice Chairman and Executive Vice President
William L. Williams III, also known as Lee Williams, is the Vice Chairman and Executive Vice President of Live Oak Bancshares and is one of the original founders of the bank. He contributed over 50 years of corporate banking experience, including significant expertise in SBA lending, to the founding of Live Oak Bank in 2008. Prior to Live Oak, he spent 19 years in corporate banking at Wachovia. He also worked for 14 years at Vine Street Financial, an SBA lending division that was co-founded with Chip Mahan at Cardinal Bancshares in 1992. Through a series of mergers and acquisitions, Vine Street Financial became a division of BB&T.
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The key risks to Live Oak Bancshares (LOB) include challenges with internal controls and financial reporting, the inherent credit risk associated with its small business lending focus, and exposure to interest rate fluctuations.
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Operational Risks and Internal Controls: Live Oak Bancshares has identified a material weakness in its internal control over financial reporting, specifically concerning its loan review process. This issue could impact investor confidence and the trading price of its securities. Furthermore, the company has faced legal scrutiny over alleged misleading disclosures and has a planned restatement of cash flow classifications in its 2024 annual report and 2025 quarterly reports, which has heightened investor scrutiny on its risk controls and governance practices. The company's reliance on third-party intellectual property and technology platforms also poses a risk if these resources become unavailable or are compromised.
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Credit Risk and Loan Losses: As a bank specializing in small business lending, Live Oak Bancshares faces inherent credit risk. Increased delinquencies and credit losses could materially affect the company's financial condition. The provision for credit losses has been a significant expense, and there are concerns regarding its asset quality metrics and elevated nonperforming loans. While many of its loans are partially guaranteed by the U.S. Small Business Administration, which mitigates some default risk, lending to small businesses is still considered inherently risky.
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Interest Rate Risk: Live Oak Bancshares is exposed to interest rate risks, which can impact its net interest income and overall profitability. Changes in interest rates affect the premiums received from loan sales and the fair value of investment securities. The company has experienced pressure on its profitability due to declining net interest margins and increasing funding costs.
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The aggressive expansion of lending services by large technology platforms represents a clear emerging threat to Live Oak Bancshares (LOB). Companies such as Amazon, Shopify, PayPal, and Square are increasingly leveraging their vast proprietary data, existing merchant ecosystems, and advanced technological capabilities to offer various forms of credit and capital to small businesses. While Live Oak Bancshares differentiates itself through specialized SBA lending and a digital-first approach, these tech giants possess unparalleled customer reach and integration points within the small business operational workflow. Their potential to significantly broaden their lending portfolios, refine underwriting models with unique alternative data, and embed financial services seamlessly into their core platforms poses a clear risk of disintermediation, potentially capturing a substantial portion of the small business lending market that Live Oak Bancshares currently serves or aims to serve, thereby eroding its competitive advantages.
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Live Oak Bancshares (LOB) primarily focuses on small business lending, deposit services, and investments in financial technology (fintech) solutions, operating across the United States.
Main Products and Services and Addressable Market Sizes:
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Small Business Lending (SBA 7(a) Loans):
The addressable market for SBA 7(a) loans in the U.S. was over $37 billion in total loan volume during the 2025 fiscal year. Live Oak Bank is a leading lender in this market.
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Conventional Small Business Loans:
Live Oak Bancshares also provides conventional small business loans. However, a specific addressable market size in dollar figures for this product was not identified in the provided information.
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Deposit Services:
Live Oak Bank offers various deposit products, including high-yield savings, certificates of deposit, and business checking accounts, to individuals and businesses nationwide. A specific addressable market size for these deposit services was not identified in the provided information.
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Fintech Solutions:
Live Oak Bancshares invests in technology and fintech solutions. A specific addressable market size for their fintech solutions was not identified in the provided information.
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Here are 3-5 expected drivers of future revenue growth for Live Oak Bancshares (LOB) over the next 2-3 years:
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Continued Growth in Small Business Administration (SBA) Lending: Live Oak Bancshares consistently holds the position as the number one SBA 7(a) lender, demonstrating strong loan production and outstanding growth. In Q3 2025, the company reported a 22% increase in loan production and a 17% rise in loan outstandings, with a 44% increase in production over the previous year. This robust performance in its core small business lending market is expected to continue driving significant revenue.
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Expansion of Customer Deposits and "Full Relationship" Strategy: The company is focused on deepening customer relationships by encouraging both loan and deposit accounts. Live Oak Bancshares achieved a 20% year-over-year growth in customer deposits and a 3% quarter-over-quarter increase in Q3 2025, with noninterest-bearing balances also growing significantly. The percentage of customers maintaining both loan and deposit relationships with Live Oak reached 20%, indicating a successful strategy for a stable funding base and increased net interest income.
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Introduction and Growth of New Product Offerings: Live Oak Bancshares has actively launched new product offerings, including small-dollar SBA loan capabilities and business checking accounts, which commenced in early 2024. These new services are expanding the company's revenue streams and further strengthening its customer engagement. Checking balances reached $363 million in Q3 2025, representing 4% of the total deposit base.
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Leveraging AI and Technology for Operational Efficiency and Loan Origination: The company is strategically investing in and implementing AI technologies to enhance operational efficiency, streamline banking processes, and improve customer interactions. Live Oak is piloting an AI-enabled loan origination solution for its Live Oak Express program, which is anticipated to boost efficiency, potentially reduce costs, and increase loan volume, thereby contributing to revenue growth.
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Net Interest Income Growth and Margin Management: Live Oak Bancshares has demonstrated consistent growth in net interest income and has expanded its net interest margin (NIM), with a 5-basis point expansion to 3.33% in Q3 2025, marking the third consecutive quarter of margin expansion. Management actively evaluates various forward-looking scenarios to assess potential net interest income and margin outcomes, reinforcing a focus on optimizing this primary revenue component. Analysts also project robust annual revenue growth of 21.3% for Live Oak Bancshares over the coming years.
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Share Repurchases
- Live Oak Bancshares' net common equity issued/repurchased from 2020 to 2025 shows transactions related to common stock.
Share Issuance
- In August 2025, Live Oak Bancshares completed an underwritten offering of 4,000,000 depositary shares, each representing a 1/40th interest in its 8.375% Fixed Rate Series A Non-Cumulative Perpetual Preferred Stock.
- This offering generated net proceeds of approximately $96.15 million.
- The proceeds from the preferred stock offering are intended for general corporate purposes, including supporting balance sheet growth and enhancing the company's capital position.
Outbound Investments
- Subsequent to September 30, 2025, Live Oak Bancshares completed the sale of Apiture, Inc.
- This sale is expected to result in a pre-tax gain of approximately $24.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2025.
Capital Expenditures
- The company continues to invest in infrastructure to support future expansion.
- Funds from the 2025 preferred stock offering may also be allocated towards technology investments.
- Live Oak Bancshares has a continued investment focus on AI and digital innovation to drive efficiency and customer experience.
