Big Banks Approved Small Business Loans at Pre-Recession Rates, Small Banks Granted More Than Half of Their Funding Requests in November, According to Biz2Credit Small Business Lending IndexsuperscriptstartTMsuperscruptend

Business loan approvals rise for banks, while institutional lenders, alternative lenders and credit unions dip slightly

ahrefstartSmall business loanahrefend approval rates for big banks reached another record high in November 2018, according to the Biz2Credit Small Business Lending IndexsuperscriptstartTMsuperscruptend released today.

Big Banks

Big Banks

The November approval percentage for big banks (assets of $10 billion+) rose one-tenth of a percent from October's figure of 26.8% to 26.9%, according to Biz2Credit's monthly report, which examines more than 1,000 credit applications made by small businesses via the company's online lending platform.

Aug 2018
26.5%
Sep 2018
26.7%

Monthly Comparison

Aug 2018
26.5%
Sep 2018
26.7%

Yearly Comparison

Optimism among entrepreneurs remains high, according to the October ahrefstartNFIB Small Business Optimism Indexahrefend, which has trended upward for the past few years. The NFIB reports that 2018 has produced 45-year record high measures of job openings, actual job creation, compensation increases, profit growth, and inventory investment. Further, capital spending has risen significantly in the past few month and small business owners have bulked up their inventories.

Rohit Arora

Rohit Arora, Biz2Credit CEO

Economy
In November, and the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 3.7 percent, according to The Bureau of Labor Statistics' ahrefstartDecember 7 Jobs Reportahrefend. Sectors that saw the largest job growth were health care, manufacturing, and transportation and warehousing

"The economy continues to show strength, and this bodes well for small businesses in search of capital. Entrepreneurs are optimistic about the future, and banks are willing to end," . "The holiday shopping season has gotten off to a good start, and overall, companies have done well in 2018. It's a good economic atmosphere for small business lending at the moment. I expect this to continue into the New Year."

Rohit Arora

Rohit Arora, Biz2Credit CEO

Small Banks

Small Banks

Business loan approval rates rose at regional and community banks. Small banks actually granted more than half of the funding requests they received in November, 50.2%, up one-tenth from the previous month. The last time small banks approved small business loans at a higher rate was in September 2014.

Jul 2018
49.7%
Aug 2018
49.8%

Monthly Comparison

Aug 2017
49%
Aug 2018
49.8%

Yearly Comparison

"Small banks are making SBA loans at a record pace. Reasonably priced cost of capital is attractive to borrowers, while the government guarantees against default and mitigating lender risk," Arora explained. "SBA loans help thousands of small businesses get off the ground each year, and I do not see an end to this trend anytime soon."

Rohit Arora

Rohit Arora, Biz2Credit CEO

Institutional lenders

Institutional lenders

institutional lenders dipped slightly from 64.8% in October to 64.7% in November, a reflection of the competitive marketplace in small business lending at the moment.

Jul 2018
64.8%
Aug 2018
64.9%

Monthly Comparison

Jul 2018
63.9%
Aug 2018
64.9%

Yearly Comparison

"Banks are approving a lot of small business loans right now since the economy is still in a very good place,"

Rohit Arora

Rohit Arora, Biz2Credit CEO

Alternative lenders

Alternative lenders

Loan approval rates among alternative lenders dropped from 56.8% in October to 56.7% in November.

Jul 2018
56.5%
Aug 2018
56.6%

Monthly Comparison

Aug 2017
57.1%
Aug 2018
56.6%

Yearly Comparison

"Alternative lenders fill a niche in the lending marketplace. We may see some vacillation, but not much on a monthly basis,"."These lenders are willing to provide capital to businesses that do not qualify for traditional bank loans. They charge higher interest rates because the companies they fund involve a higher level of risk, whether it's because of cash flow problems, past financial issues of the business owner, or industry risk."

Rohit Arora

Rohit Arora, Biz2Credit CEO

Credit unions

Credit unions

Credit unions approved 40.2% of loan applications in November, down one-tenth of a percentage from October, according to the Biz2Credit Index.

Jul 2018
40.3%
Aug 2018
40.2%

Monthly Comparison

Aug 2017
40.3%
Aug 2018
40.2%

Yearly Comparison

"Thus far, 2018 has been one of the best ever for small business lending. As long as the economy remains strong and interest rates stay reasonable, I expect small business lending to be robust as we approach 2019,"

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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