Small Business Loan Approvals at Big Banks Hit New High: Biz2Credit Small Business Lending IndexsuperscriptstartTMsuperscruptend

Credit Union Lending Percentages Drop to Historic, Post-Recession Low

The approval percentage for ahrefstartsmall business loanahrefend applicants hit a record high of 27.3% at big banks ($10 billion+ in assets) in March, up one-tenth of a percent from February, according to the Biz2Credit Small Business Lending Index for March 2019.

Big Banks

Big Banks

The approval percentage for small business loan applicants hit a record high of 27.3% at big banks ($10 billion+ in assets) in March.

Aug 2018
26.5%
Sep 2018
26.7%

Monthly Comparison

Aug 2018
26.5%
Sep 2018
26.7%

Yearly Comparison

"The Federal Reserve has slowed its trend of incremental interest rate hikes, which is good news for borrowers,"

Rohit Arora

Rohit Arora, Biz2Credit CEO

Economy
On March 20, the Federal Reserve indicated that it will not likely raise interest rates again in 2019, which means that the pattern of small but continuous rate hikes has come to a halt for now. The Fed says that its target rate will remain unchanged at between 2.25% and 2.5%.
"Approvals by big banks continue to climb. With strong financials from 2018, many small business owners are seeking capital for growth, and they have proven themselves to be creditworthy borrowers," who oversees the monthly research derived from more than 1,000 small business credit applications on his company's online lending platform."

"Money is flowing to small business borrowers, while the cost of capital is still reasonable - especially loans from 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 percent from 49.6% in February to 49.4% in March. "The New York District SBA Office guaranteed $82 million worth of loan guarantees last month, which is about $1 million less than what we guaranteed in March 2018," said New York District Director, Beth Goldberg. "Year over year, we've seen an uptick in the dollar value of 7a loans - $408 million through March 2019, compared to $402 million through the same time period last year." Goldberg added that SBA's Fiscal Year begins in October 1 and goes until September 30th of the following year. BA Administrator Linda McMahon, announced last month that she will resign from her post. "Administrator McMahon has been extremely supportive of small businesses all across the country in her role as the head of the SBA," Arora said. "Her passion for the success of small business has been inspiring, particularly to female entrepreneurs. Meanwhile, the Jobs Report released on April 5, reported 196,000 new jobs were created. The Labor Department also increased its February numbers. Overall, the economy is still performing well, and business optimism is still high, according to the most recent ahrefstartNFIB Small Business Optimism Indexahrefend

Jul 2018
49.7%
Aug 2018
49.8%

Monthly Comparison

Aug 2017
49%
Aug 2018
49.8%

Yearly Comparison

"Around this time each year, there often is a hold up because small banks - particularly lenders that process SBA loans -- will wait to see the previous year's tax filings before making a decision,"

Rohit Arora

Rohit Arora, Biz2Credit CEO

Institutional lenders

Institutional lenders

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

Jul 2018
64.8%
Aug 2018
64.9%

Monthly Comparison

Jul 2018
63.9%
Aug 2018
64.9%

Yearly Comparison

"Small business loan-making has proven to be profitable and relatively low risk for institutional lenders, which explains their continued growth in the marketplace,"

Rohit Arora

Rohit Arora, Biz2Credit CEO

Alternative lenders

Alternative lenders

Loan approval rates among alternative lenders climbed a notch from 57.2% in February to 57.3% in March, a one-tenth of a percent increase.

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 40.2% in February to 40.1% of loan applications in March, tying a historic low.

Jul 2018
40.3%
Aug 2018
40.2%

Monthly Comparison

Aug 2017
40.3%
Aug 2018
40.2%

Yearly Comparison

"Credit unions for the most part have not kept up with technology,"added Arora, who oversees the Biz2Credit research. "Meanwhile, SBA lending has rebounded, big banks have asserted their presence in the marketplace, and institutional lenders have been active and aggressive in striking funding deals."

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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