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December/2022

Biz2Credit Small Business Lending Index™ Reports Little to No Growth in Loan Approval Percentages in 2022

December 2022 approval rates rose slightly at Small Banks, Institutional Investors, and Alternative Lenders while Big Banks and Credit Unions stalled last month.
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Big BanksImage
Banks with assets greater than $10 billion
Small business loan approval percentages at big banks slipped again, falling from 14.6% in November to 14.5% in December, tied with January for the lowest month approval rating for big banks in 2022, according to the latest Biz2Credit Small Business Lending Index™ released today.

Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 223,000 in December, and the unemployment rate edged down to 3.5 percent, according to the Jobs Report released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday, Jan. 6. Notable job gains occurred in leisure and hospitality, health care, construction, and social assistance. Many of these jobs are created by small businesses.

Biz2Credit analyzed loan requests from companies in business more than two years with credit scores above 680. The results are based on primary data submitted by more than 1,000 small business owners who applied for funding on Biz2Credit's platform. To view the report for December 2022, click here.

Monthly Comparison
-0.1%
14.5%
December 2022
14.6%
November 2022
Yearly Comparison
+0.2%
14.5%
December 2022
14.3%
December 2021
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“It is currently a tough time to get small business loans from big banks,” said Rohit Arora, CEO of Biz2Credit, one of the nation’s leading experts in small business finance and fintech. “Many small business owners are waiting to see if interest rate increases will end in early 2023, and the ones that do apply have not been very successful in securing capital.”

Rohit Arora
Biz2Credit CEO
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Small Banks Image
Banks with assets less than $10 billion
Approval percentages of business loan applications at small banks rose from 21.1% in November to 21.2% in December.
Monthly Comparison
+0.1%
21.2%
December 2022
21.1%
November 2022
Yearly Comparison
+1.1%
21.2%
December 2022
20.1%
December 2021
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Institutional Lenders Image
Investment groups or large investment portfolios such as insurance funds, mutual funds and hedge funds
Institutional Investors also showed an increase in approval percentages, going from 25.8% in November to 25.9% in December.
Monthly Comparison
+0.1%
25.9%
December 2022
25.8%
November 2022
Yearly Comparison
+1.0%
25.9%
December 2022
24.9%
December 2021
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Alternative Lenders Image
Independent lending organizations not licensed as banks or credit unions
Approval percentages of alternative lenders rose from 27.4% in November to 27.6% in December.
Monthly Comparison
+0.2%
27.6%
December 2022
27.4%
November 2022
Yearly Comparison
+1.5%
27.6%
December 2022
26.1%
December 2021
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“As we look at 2022, big bank small business loan approval percentages rose, then steadily declined where the figure in December was the same as it was last January. Meanwhile, small bank approval rates inched up ever so slightly but are still far below pre-pandemic levels,” Arora added. “Institutional Investors and Alternative Lenders were slightly up in 2022. Credit unions in December recorded their second lowest total ever since Biz2Credit began reported loan approval percentages in 2011. Overall, it was a tough year for small businesses looking to secure financing.”

Rohit Arora
Biz2Credit CEO
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Credit Unions Image
Arora says the lending industry is watching closely what the SBA does, specifically whether the agency will approve fintech companies to process SBA loans.
Credit unions saw a decrease in approval ratings, going from 20.3% in November to 20.2% in December.
Monthly Comparison
-0.1%
20.2%
December 2022
20.3%
November 2022
Yearly Comparison
-0.4%
20.2%
December 2022
20.6%
December 2021

The Report

About Biz2Credit Small Business Lending Index™

The Biz2Credit Small Business Lending Index™ 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 Index™ 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.

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