Live Oak Bank

I recently got an SBA loan through Live Oak Bank, and the experience was excellent. Kara was my initial contact and made the document submission process smooth and easy. Sean, my closing agent, had great communication and kept everything on track. I’ve applied for SBA loans before and they always seemed complicated, but Live Oak Bank made it simple and fast. Funny enough, I actually asked ChatGPT who the best bank was for an SBA loan, and it suggested Live Oak Bank — AI wasn’t wrong! Big thanks to Kara and Sean for making the process so seamless. Highly recommend Live Oak Bank for SBA loans.

Arrived shortly afternoon to open a new account. I was told I was next in line behind a couple. About 45 minutes later I asked if that guy was the only one that could open an account. It's not the only guy. . . In the huge sprawling campus of Live Oak Bank there is only 1 room to do walk in banking. That does not scream efficiency.

Ive been with Live Oak Bank for about 15 years and I've been able to depend on them through two very trying situations . When Truist backed out of my construction loan just a week before we were supposed to start building (after the initial cost were already paid for), Live Oak stepped in and got it done in seven days. Totally saved me. Just finished paying off that same loan and there was a mix-up with Bank of America that caused it to be paid off twice. James at Live Oak handled it very professionally and did not even Flinch about being caught in the middle of Bank of America's mistake. He didn’t have to—Live Oak wasn’t making any more money off me—but he still made sure I got what was owed to me. He even called me after Live Oak was out of the picture to make sure that everything had been set right. This bank and their people have had my back from the start. I have been pleasantly surprised with this Bank throughout the entire process.

They'll make you run through hoops talk you up like they can help up and coming business owners yet do very little to back it up. They won't help me now you'll never get my business in the future. Heck they even tell you they will help you buy other business. But something tells me that's all big talk. Complete waste of multiple hours.

Met with various higher-ups about obtaining a small business loan, and was met with extreme unprofessionalism, accusations of trespassing (on my own banks property / buildings), and an unwillingness to look up my information / credit worthiness before denying access to capital. With that said, other staff including receptionist, and call-center members were professional and handled my inquiries about how to quickly transfer all of my money back out to competing banks fairly well. After meeting and talking with various employees, this bank has a general feeling of malaise and will likely not survive in the long term. Bankers beware!

It's a JOKE bank! Wasting my time with them. I decide to open an account with them online 8/3/25 after I saw so many good reviews about their customer service. Long story short, I connect my bank account with them online and transfered money to my new account with them. After waiting for several days I did not see the transfer result so then I called and asked them. According to them at that time, it takes about 3 business days for the new money to get completed transfer to the new account, and 2 business days afterwards. After waiting for more than 3 days, when I try log in online they lock my account and ask me to call to the customer service manager. So I call today, and they said they decided to close my account because the money transferred was unsuccessful. Are you kidding me? Instead of calling me and trying to solve the problem, they just do the short cut to close the account. What kind of customer service is this? This is the first time I experience something like this. If the money transferred is failed due to your crooked-bad online system, it's not your customer problem. Don't get me wrong, I am totally fine if I am not banking with them, it just really disgrace how they handle things, and no communications with customer at all. Based on my experience, I realize now for all the good reviews they get online, it's just a fake paid reviews. Be aware with this bank. 100% is not recommended!

I recently checked out the spot at 1757 Tiburon Dr in Wilmington, NC, and honestly, it didn’t blow me away. The location itself feels a bit tucked away with limited nearby amenities, so if you’re not driving, things can feel pretty inconvenient. The place looks decent enough but lacks that wow factor or any real charm—it’s functional but nothing memorable. Service was okay but a bit slow and not very engaging, which made the visit feel a bit meh overall. The food was average, nothing special or exciting, and prices felt a bit high for what you get. If you’re just passing through or need something quick, it works, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to come back.

Live Oak will waste your time and complicate your access to your own money every step of the way. They are a spectacularly incompetent bank staffed with entitled employees with poor communication skills. Go elsewhere.