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Traditional banks
Banks fund from deposits, which is why their money is cheapest and their underwriting most conservative. Published 2026 ranges start bank equipment financing at roughly 7%, with terms to seven or ten years. They want two years of business and personal tax returns, interim financials, a debt schedule, a 680+ personal FICO with best pricing above 720, two or more years of operating history, debt service coverage of 1.15x to 1.25x, and often your deposit relationship. The imaging-specific friction: banks are frequently uncomfortable with refurbished scanners, private-party purchases, and de novo centers with no payer history, and a generalist credit officer does not know what a five-year-old 1.5T is worth on resale. Best fit: an established multi-modality center with clean financials, buying new, on a timeline that can absorb a month.
Specialty equipment and healthcare lenders
These lenders fund from credit facilities rather than deposits, so pricing is higher, from about 8.5% for strong imaging borrowers, with other profiles quoted to the full file; the Quote Builder shows your range in a few taps. What you buy is speed, flexibility, and underwriting that knows the asset. Application-only thresholds vary widely, and many stop at $150,000 or $250,000. At Five West, imaging equipment financing is application-only up to $500,000, which covers every ultrasound, X-ray room, and mammography purchase outright, most CT, and a good share of refurbished MRI, on a completed application and the equipment quote. Approvals can come the same day on standard amounts, two to four weeks on larger transactions. Best fit: refurbished purchases, tight install windows, de novo centers, and any file that needs explaining.
OEM captive finance
GE HealthCare, Siemens Healthineers, Philips, and Canon all run finance arms, and in imaging these are a bigger factor than in most verticals. Captives exist to move scanners and service contracts, so pricing is occasionally subsidized on a specific unit, though standard captive pricing sits mid-market, around 7% to 15%. You get one negotiation covering equipment, financing, installation, and the service contract, with decisions in one to two weeks. The catch: the financing is tied to that manufacturer’s equipment, and the service contract is usually bundled into the same conversation. A subsidized rate paired with a service agreement priced at the top of the 8% to 12% band can cost more over seven years than a higher rate with a competitively bid service contract.
On MRI, where OEM service runs $42,000 to $134,000 a year depending on manufacturer, the service line can exceed the interest line.
Price the scanner, the money, and the service separately, then compare the bundle against the sum of independently sourced parts. Ask what the rate would be without the service contract attached.
SBA 7(a)
Maximum rates as of September 2026, against a 7.00% prime rate: prime + 3% variable on loans over $250,000, about 10.00%, rising to prime + 6% and prime + 6.5% on smaller loans. Terms run to 10 years for equipment and 25 for real estate. SBA is well suited to one specific case: a whole-project buildout that bundles real estate or a long-term lease, vault construction, shielding, the scanner, and working capital for the ramp into a single facility. That is hard to assemble from an equipment program, which will finance the scanner and cap the soft costs. It is the wrong tool for a single $150,000 ultrasound or a replacement DR room.
Which banks and specialty lessors support imaging equipment financing?
Traditional banks do, mostly for established centers buying new, and so do specialty lenders and lessors, which also take the refurbished, private-party, and de novo deals banks are often uneasy with. The other two routes are SBA 7(a) lenders and the OEM captive arms (GE HealthCare, Siemens Healthineers, Philips, and Canon). Here’s how all four compare.
Published market ranges as of September 2026. WSJ prime rate is 7.00%. Individual quotes depend on the full credit profile.
Where industry expertise actually shows up
- Valuing the collateral. Someone who has financed scanners knows what a 16-channel 1.5T is worth in year five and that a wide bore holds value better.
- Understanding the ramp. An imaging center waits on credentialing, payer contracting, and referral relationships. Underwriting that knows this structures step payments or a short deferral; underwriting that does not sees a coverage problem.
- Reading payer mix. Technical component billing, global versus professional split, and prior-authorization drag are normal features of the business, not warning signs.
- Financing the soft costs. Rigging, de-installation, transport, and shielding are a material share of an imaging project and where policies differ most.
- Knowing the commissioning calendar. The physicist survey gates revenue, and funding should be planned around it.
Which should you choose?
- New scanner from a major OEM: get the captive quote, then price the money and service separately elsewhere before accepting.
- Certified refurbished MRI or CT: specialty. Most banks will not underwrite it well.
- Ultrasound, X-ray, 2D mammography under $250k: specialty, application-only, funded in days.
- Established center, new equipment, no deadline: get the bank quote, and a competing one before you sign it.
- De novo center, vault construction, real estate, working capital: SBA 7(a).
- Install date inside three weeks, or a December 31 placed-in-service deadline: specialty.
Comparing offers honestly
Rate alone is a poor comparison in imaging, more so than in other verticals. Ask every source the same questions: total cost of the contract, every payment plus every fee; whether the service contract is attached, and the rate without it; which soft costs they will fund (rigging, de-install, transport, shielding) and at what cap; fixed or variable, and the index; prepayment penalty and whether it declines; collateral position, the equipment only or a blanket lien; and end-of-term obligations on any lease structure.
Five West programs at a glance
There is a fifth option. One application is matched to the Five West program that fits: bank-style pricing, structures that underwrite refurbished and de novo, leases, or SBA, without stacking inquiries across a nine-month install calendar.
- Rates
- Priced to your credit profile, term, and equipment; competitive with a bank on rate, not on speed
- Terms
- 24 to 84 months, with 10 years on SBA loans
- Amounts
- $15,000 to $5 million+
- Application only
- Up to $500,000 with no tax returns or financial statements
- Credit
- Established businesses from 600+, startups from 700+
- Equipment
- New, used, refurbished, dealer, and private-party purchases
- Speed
- Same-day options on qualified files, with approvals in as little as 30 minutes
- Coverage
- Nationwide and U.S. territories
Send us your quotes and we will unbundle the captive's service contract from its rate so you can see what each is actually costing over seven years.
Free consultation, no obligation. All financing is subject to credit approval and underwriting; rates and terms depend on the complete business and credit profile.
The bottom line
Banks are cheapest and slowest. Specialty lenders are fastest and will underwrite refurbished and de novo. Captives are convenient and occasionally promotional, but bundle the service contract, which on MRI can outweigh the rate. SBA fits a whole-project buildout.
Do not work through them one at a time.
On a scanner with a 9- to 15-month install calendar, applying to multiple lenders one after another burns months and stacks credit inquiries. Put the file through one application that is matched to the right program, insist on total cost of contract rather than rate, and unbundle the service agreement before you compare anything.
Holding a captive quote?
Send it over. We will price the money separately from the service contract so you can see what each is actually costing you. Or run the numbers yourself first in the Quote Builder. No credit pull, no obligation.
Do imaging equipment lenders offer leases as well as loans?
Many do. A specialty lessor is simply a specialty lender that writes leases. With an equipment finance agreement, you own the scanner from day one and pay it down to zero. With a lease, the funder owns it during the term and you pay to use it. The buyout you pick up front ($1, 10%, or fair market value) sets how much is left at the end, and the more that’s left, the lower the payment.
Which one fits comes down to how long you’ll keep the machine. Imaging technology tends to go out of date before it wears out, so a fair market value lease with an upgrade path suits a lot of scanners. Long-lived rooms and DR retrofits are usually financed and owned. Taxes differ too. On a fair market value lease you deduct the payments as rent instead of taking Section 179 on the scanner, so check with your CPA.
Five West offers both from one application, with finance agreements from 24 to 84 months and leases from 24 to 60 months on new and refurbished systems. I’d get both quoted on the same scanner before choosing. Our MRI lease-or-buy guide walks through the trade-off.
Choosing an imaging equipment lender: common questions
Who finances MRI and CT scanners?
Four lender types: traditional banks from roughly 7%; specialty equipment and healthcare lenders from 8.5%, quoted to the file; OEM captive finance arms from GE HealthCare, Siemens Healthineers, Philips, and Canon at 7% to 15% with promotional pricing on specific units; and SBA 7(a) at prime plus 3% for loans over $250,000, about 10.00% as of September 2026.
Should I use a bank or a specialty lessor for imaging equipment financing?
Use a bank if you run an established center with clean financials, you’re buying new, and you can wait two to four weeks. Bank pricing starts around 7%. Use a specialty lender or lessor if the scanner is refurbished or bought from a private party, the center is new, or the install date is close. Specialty pricing starts around 8.5% for strong files, standard amounts are usually approved in 24 to 72 hours, and many write leases as well as loans. Either way, get a competing quote before you sign.
Is OEM captive financing a good deal for imaging equipment?
Sometimes, but it needs unbundling. Captives often subsidize the rate to move scanners and service contracts, so the financing can be the cheapest available on a new system. The risk is that a below-market rate is paired with a service agreement priced at the top of the 8% to 12% band. On MRI, where OEM service runs $42,000 to $134,000 annually, the service line can exceed the interest line. Ask what the rate is without the service contract attached.
Will a bank finance a refurbished MRI?
Often not comfortably. Banks tend to be conservative on refurbished scanners, private-party purchases, and de novo centers with no payer history, partly because a generalist credit officer cannot readily value a five-year-old magnet on resale. Specialty equipment and healthcare programs underwrite refurbished systems routinely and are usually the practical route.
Is an SBA loan good for an imaging center?
SBA 7(a) fits one case well: a whole-project buildout bundling real estate or a long-term lease, vault construction, shielding, the scanner, and ramp-up working capital into a single facility. It is disproportionate for a single ultrasound or a replacement X-ray room, where the 45- to 90-day timeline outweighs a modest rate advantage.
How fast can imaging equipment financing be approved?
Specialty programs commonly approve standard amounts in 24 to 72 hours, with larger transactions taking two to four weeks. OEM captives take one to two weeks, banks two to four, and SBA 7(a) four to twelve. Imaging deals above $500,000 move out of application-only into full underwriting.
What should I ask an imaging equipment lender?
Total cost of the contract including all fees rather than the rate; whether the service contract is attached and what the rate is without it; which soft costs they will fund (rigging, de-installation, transport, shielding) and at what cap; fixed or variable and the index; prepayment penalty and whether it declines; collateral position, equipment only or blanket lien; and any end-of-term obligations on a lease.
Can I finance the shielding and installation, not just the scanner?
Often yes, as soft costs inside a larger equipment facility, but policies differ more on this than on almost anything else, and most cap soft costs as a percentage of hard collateral. Because rigging, de-installation, transport, and RF shielding are a material share of an imaging project, ask about the soft-cost cap early. It can decide which option is actually cheapest.
Related imaging center financing guides
More on financing equipment for a diagnostic imaging center.
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This article is general information about commercial equipment financing and is not a commitment to finance. All financing is subject to credit approval and underwriting. Rates, terms, and approval depend on the complete business and credit profile. Figures shown are illustrative market ranges gathered from published sources as of August 2026 and are not an offer. Five West Financial is not a tax advisor or an accounting firm; confirm any tax treatment with your CPA before relying on it.