Biz2Credit Small Business Lending Index Reports Record Breaking Approval Rates at Big Banks and Institutional Lenders in April 2014
Approval Rates by Small Banks, Alternative Lenders and Credit Unions Slip
Big Banks
Small business loan approval rates at big banks ($10 billion+ in assets) rose to 19.4% in April 2014, up from 18.8% in March, and a record high for the Biz2Credit Small Business Lending Index, a monthly analysis of 1,000 loan applications on Biz2Credit.com.
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"In April, small business owners submit their tax filings, and banks use that data in making their lending decisions." "The economy is steadily improving, and established businesses are returning to the credit marketplace. They are able to get money from big banks that offer attractive rates. This is a very strong trend."

Rohit Arora, Biz2Credit CEO

"There was a lot of pent up demand in the marketplace. Retailers are buying inventory, and restaurants are upgrading their outdoor seating in preparation for the summer". "Big banks make speedier decisions on non-SBA loans, which take a long time to process. That is a major reason for the jump in approval rates by big banks."

Rohit Arora, Biz2Credit CEO
Small Banks
Small business loan approval rates at small banks decreased to 51.1% in April 2014, down from 51.6% last month.
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"Small banks are down because they are not processing SBA Express loans as quickly as they were last month". "I was a little surprised to see them stall a bit in April."

Rohit Arora, Biz2Credit CEO
Institutional lenders
Institutional Lenders granted 58.3% of the funding requests they received in April, a moderate increase from 58.1% in March. These institutions include credit funds, insurance companies, family funds, and other yield-hungry, non-bank financial institutions. They typically offer more competitively priced loan options than alternative lenders in amounts up to $1 million.
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"Institutional Investors are taking away market share from alternative lenders." "They are gathering momentum as a category of small business lender as company owners prefer to borrow larger sums of money at cheaper interest rates."

Rohit Arora, Biz2Credit CEO
Alternative lenders
Alternative lenders decreased for the fourth consecutive month to 63.5% in April from 63.6% in March 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.
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Credit unions
Meanwhile, loan approvals by credit unions dropped to the lowest level ever in the three year history of the Biz2Credit Index. Small business loan approval rates at credit unions slightly decreased from 43.6% in March to 43.5% in April.
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"Overall, credit unions keep slipping in the small business lending marketplace, and approval rate percentages have dropped to their lowest levels."

Rohit Arora, Biz2Credit CEO
View Past Months
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December 2020 |
Biz2Credit Small Business Lending Index™ Reports Loan Approval Rates at Banks Declined in December 2020, Are Down More Than 50 Percent from One Year Ago |
Approval percentages for all categories of lenders dropped more than 50% from December 2019 |
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November 2020 |
Biz2Credit Small Business Lending Index™ Reports Loan Approval Rates at Banks Declined in November 2020, Are Down More Than 50 Percent from One Year Ago |
Approval percentages are down 50% or more for all categories of small business lenders as the pandemic surges |
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October 2020 |
Small Business Loan Approval Rates at Banks Declined in October 2020: Biz2Credit Small Business Lending Index™ |
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September 2020 |
Small Business Loan Approval Rates at Banks Fell Again in September 2020: Biz2Credit Small Business Lending Index™ |
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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.