Bank Lending to Small Companies Mixed in March 2014; Biz2Credit Small Business Lending Index Reports Drop in Approval Rates at Big Banks and Rise in Small Banks

Approval Rates by Alternative Lenders and Credit Unions Slip, While Lending by Institutional Investors Climbs

Big Banks

Big Banks

Small business loan approval rates at big banks ($10 billion+ in assets) dropped to 18.8% in March 2014 which earlier stood at 19.1% in February, reported Biz2Credit Small Business Lending Index - a monthly analysis of 1,000 loan applications on Biz2Credit.com. However, in a year-to-year comparison, lending approval rates at big banks still have increased nearly 20 percent.

Aug 2018
26.5%
Sep 2018
26.7%

Monthly Comparison

Aug 2018
26.5%
Sep 2018
26.7%

Yearly Comparison

"Big banks rely on tax data to process non-SBA loans. Since tax season is always a busy time of the year for CPAs who are preparing tax returns, they have less time to pull together statements for business owners seeking loans. This slows the loan application process."

Rohit Arora

Rohit Arora, Biz2Credit CEO

Economy

"Big banks typically process more conventional loans for larger firms than SBA Express Loans, which are more popular with companies that need less than $350,000."

Rohit Arora

Rohit Arora, Biz2Credit CEO

Small Banks

Small Banks

Small business loan approval rates at small banks increased to 51.6% in March 2014, up from 51.4% last month. Small bank lending approval rates have increased over the last three months and four out of the last five months

Jul 2018
49.7%
Aug 2018
49.8%

Monthly Comparison

Aug 2017
49%
Aug 2018
49.8%

Yearly Comparison

"The SBA Express and Small Business Loan Programs are becoming increasingly popular among small banks". "These types of loans are 85 percent guaranteed by the SBA, and there are no guarantee fees for the borrowers, which makes them very appealing to small banks."

Rohit Arora

Rohit Arora, Biz2Credit CEO

Institutional lenders

Institutional lenders

Institutional Lenders approved 58.1% of the funding requests they received in March, a moderate increase from 56.6% in February. Lending approval rates by institutional lenders have progressively increased its loan approval rates since it was first introduced as a category to the Biz2Credit Small Business Lending Index in January 2014. Lenders include credit funds, insurance companies, family funds, and other yield-hungry, non-bank financial institutions that typically offer more competitively priced loan options than alternative lenders in amounts up to $1 million.

Jul 2018
64.8%
Aug 2018
64.9%

Monthly Comparison

Jul 2018
63.9%
Aug 2018
64.9%

Yearly Comparison

Alternative lenders

Alternative lenders

Alternative lenders decreased for the third consecutive month to 63.6% in March from 63.9% in February 2014. Alternative lenders are starting to feel the squeeze from banks and institutional lenders, which are attracting higher quality borrowers who are willing to shop around.

Jul 2018
56.5%
Aug 2018
56.6%

Monthly Comparison

Aug 2017
57.1%
Aug 2018
56.6%

Yearly Comparison

"As economic conditions continue to improve, more creditworthy borrowers elect to seek funding from traditional lenders, such as banks and institutional lenders, which offer lower interest rates". "Small company owners want to avoid daily payments that cash advance firms charge on short-term loans. The effective interest rate can reach upto 30-40% which is too high for most businesses."

Rohit Arora

Rohit Arora, Biz2Credit CEO

Credit Unions

Credit unions

Meanwhile, credit unions experienced a slight increase in lending approvals. In March, small business loan approval rates at credit unions improved from 43.3% in February to 43.6%. Though, lending approval rates by credit unions are down by nearly 5% in a year-to-year comparison.

Jul 2018
40.3%
Aug 2018
40.2%

Monthly Comparison

Aug 2017
40.3%
Aug 2018
40.2%

Yearly Comparison

"Credit unions are increasingly planning to adopt SBA Express Loans. If they do not become involved in SBA loans, the real likelihood is that their small business lending will continue to slide," added Arora.

Rohit Arora

Rohit Arora, Biz2Credit CEO

View Past Months

Access Archives

October 2023

Small Business Loan Approvals Dropped at Big Banks, Rose at Small Banks and Alternative Lenders in October 2023: Biz2Credit Small Business Lending Index™

Loan approval rates at institutional investors and alternative lenders increase for 10th consecutive month, while credit union approval rate returns to all-time Index low.

View Report
September 2023

Small Business Loan Approvals Slid at Big Banks, Rose at Other Lenders in September: Biz2Credit Small Business Lending Index™

Loan approval percentages rose at regional and community banks and non-bank lenders.

View Report
August 2023

Business Loan Approvals at Big Banks and Credit Unions Continued to Slide in August: Biz2Credit Small Business Lending Index™

Big bank lending to small businesses has stalled for over a year, while credit unions return to an all-time low. Loan approval percentages rose at regional and community banks and non-bank lenders.

View Report
July 2023

Business Loan Approvals at Big Banks Continue to Drop, While Other Lenders Increased in July: Biz2Credit Small Business Lending Index™

Big bank approvals have declined steadily over the past 12 months. Approval percentages rose at small banks, institutional investors, and alternative lenders in July 2023.

View Report

About Biz2Credit Small Business Lending IndexTM

The Biz2Credit Small Business Lending IndexTM is an analysis of 1,000 monthly loan applications on the Biz2Credit website. The Index reports the loan approval rates of small business financing requests at Big Banks ($10 billion+ in assets), local and regional banks and non-bank lenders (credit unions, Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI), micro lenders, and others).

Unlike other surveys, the results are based on primary data submitted by more than 1,000 entrepreneurs who applied for funding on Biz2Credit's online lending platform, which connects small business borrowers with sources of capital.

Results of the Biz2Credit Small Business Lending IndexTM have been reported by The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Entrepreneur.com, Bloomberg Radio's "The Hays Advantage", SBA Radio, NY Daily News, Crain's NY Business, Michigan Banker, and other media.

x
”Your browser does not support the images displayed on this website. Please try to access the site from the latest version of Google Chrome, Safari, Microsoft Edge or Mozilla Firefox”