Small Business Loan Approvals at Big Banks Hit New High; Other Categories of Lender Dip Slightly, According to Biz2Credit Small Business Lending IndexsuperscriptstartTMsuperscruptend

Lending Atmosphere Still Solid for Small Business Borrowers

The loan approval percentage for ahrefstartsmall business creditahrefend applicants hit a record high of 27.2% at big banks ($10 billion+ in assets) in February, while approval rates at small banks, alternative lenders and credit unions dipped slightly, according to the Biz2Credit Small Business Lending IndexsuperscriptstartTMsuperscruptend

Big Banks

Big Banks

"After two months at an even 27%, the approvals by big banks climbed a bit at big banks in February."

Aug 2018
26.5%
Sep 2018
26.7%

Monthly Comparison

Aug 2018
26.5%
Sep 2018
26.7%

Yearly Comparison

"In an ahrefstartinterview with 60 Minutesahrefend on Sunday, March 9, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell told Scott Pelley: "What's happened in the last 90 or so days is that we've seen increasing evidence of the global economy slowing down. We're going to wait and see how those conditions evolve before we make any changes to our interest-rate policy. "

Rohit Arora

Rohit Arora, Biz2Credit CEO

Economy
"We see the economy as in a good place. We think that the outlook is a favorable one. Inflation is muted and our policy rate we think is in an appropriate place," added Powell, who has overseen four interest rate hikes during his tenure. "I think growth this year will be slower than last year. Last year was the highest growth that we've experienced since the financial crisis... I expect that growth will continue to be positive and continue to be at a healthy rate."
"Overall, the cost of capital is relatively low, small businesses are looking to secure capital, and for many companies, their recent financial performances have made them creditworthy borrowers," said Biz2Credit CEO Rohit Arora, who oversees the monthly research derived from more than 1,000 small business credit applications on his company's online lending platform."

"The Federal Reserve has slowed its trend of incremental interest rate hikes, which is good news for borrowers," said Arora, one of the nation's leading experts in small business finance. "Money is flowing to small business borrowers, while the cost of capital is still reasonable - especially traditional bank loans."

Rohit Arora

Rohit Arora, Biz2Credit CEO

Small Banks

Small Banks

Small bank approvals of small business loan applications dropped two-tenths of a percentage point from 49.8% in January to 48.6% in February.

Jul 2018
49.7%
Aug 2018
49.8%

Monthly Comparison

Aug 2017
49%
Aug 2018
49.8%

Yearly Comparison

" Meanwhile, the Jobs Report released on March 8, saw a stunning drop in job creation - just 20,000 new jobs, which may be an indication that business growth may be slowing a bit. The ahrefstartNFIB Small Business Optimism Index slippedahrefend by 3.2 points in January, as business owners expressed concern about future economic growth. However, optimism remains well above the historical average and was a reflection of the uncertainty during the 35-day government shutdown, according to the NFIB."

Rohit Arora

Rohit Arora, Biz2Credit CEO

Institutional lenders

Institutional lenders

Institutional lenders climbed up to 65.2%, up a notch from 65.1 % in January.

Jul 2018
64.8%
Aug 2018
64.9%

Monthly Comparison

Jul 2018
63.9%
Aug 2018
64.9%

Yearly Comparison

Alternative lenders

Alternative lenders

Loan approval rates among alternative lenders dipped from 57.3% in January to 57.2% in February, a one-tenth of a percent drop.

Jul 2018
56.5%
Aug 2018
56.6%

Monthly Comparison

Aug 2017
57.1%
Aug 2018
56.6%

Yearly Comparison

Credit unions

Credit unions

Credit unions approvals dipped slightly from 40.3% in January to 40.2% of loan applications in February.

Jul 2018
40.3%
Aug 2018
40.2%

Monthly Comparison

Aug 2017
40.3%
Aug 2018
40.2%

Yearly Comparison

"The economy is still solid, and overall the approval rates for small business loans in February were stable," added Arora, who oversees the Biz2Credit research. "There are no major macro issues in the economy right now. Although 2019 may not be as good as 2018, we are still in very good economic times. This is beneficial for small business owners in search of capital."

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.

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