Big Banks’ Small Business Loan Approvals Continue to Rise, Reach New Record High in November, According to Biz2Credit Small Business Lending Index™

Improvement seen in lending by big banks, small banks, and institutional investors in November

Small business leading

Biz2Credit Small Business Leading IndexTM

Big Banks’ Small Business Loan Approvals Continue to Rise, Reach New Record High in November.

Big Banks

Big Banks

The approval percentage for small business loan applications at big banks ($10 billion+ in assets) inched up one-tenth of a percent to reach 28.1% in November 2019, a new post-recession height, according to the Biz2Credit Small Business Lending Index™ released today. Private sector, nonfarm employment rose by 266,000 in November, while the unemployment rate was little changed at 3.5 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Jobs Report issued on Friday, Dec. 6. Employment rose in manufacturing, reflecting the return of workers from a strike. Notable job gains occurred in health care and in professional and technical services. Many of those jobs were created by small businesses.

Aug 2018
26.5%
Sep 2018
26.7%

Monthly Comparison

Aug 2018
26.5%
Sep 2018
26.7%

Yearly Comparison

“Interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve, optimism among small business owners, and an overall strong economy account for an incredibly strong for small business lending,” said Biz2Credit CEO Rohit Arora, who oversees the monthly research. “If you are a small business owner considering investing money in your firm, you may not see a time better than now.”

Rohit Arora

Rohit Arora, Biz2Credit CEO

Small Banks

Small Banks

During the recently completed Fiscal Year 2019, SBA loan volume exceeded $28 billion with more than 63,000 approved loans. The approval rate at small banks, which often are SBA-approved lenders, also climbed one-tenth of a percent from 50.4% in October to 50.5% in November.

Jul 2018
49.7%
Aug 2018
49.8%

Monthly Comparison

Aug 2017
49%
Aug 2018
49.8%

Yearly Comparison

“Small banks continue to approve more loan requests than they reject – for both traditional bank loans and SBA loans,” Arora explained. “As business owners look ahead and consider their growth path for 2020, I expect that small business lending at regional and community banks will be strong into the foreseeable future.”

Rohit Arora

Rohit Arora, Biz2Credit CEO

Institutional lenders

Institutional lenders

Institutional lenders’ approval rates again inched up by one-tenth percent, reaching 66.1%, up a notch from October’s figure of 66%.

Jul 2018
64.8%
Aug 2018
64.9%

Monthly Comparison

Jul 2018
63.9%
Aug 2018
64.9%

Yearly Comparison

“Institutional lenders have successfully entered the small business lending marketplace. By offering loans at reasonably interest rates and longer terms, they have become an excellent source of capital for entrepreneurs,” Arora said.

Rohit Arora

Rohit Arora, Biz2Credit CEO

Alternative lenders

Alternative lenders

Small business loan approval rates among alternative lenders slipped a notch to 56.3% last month from 56.4% in October.

Jul 2018
56.5%
Aug 2018
56.6%

Monthly Comparison

Aug 2017
57.1%
Aug 2018
56.6%

Yearly Comparison

“While alternative lenders’ approval percentages have been slipping from their high points during the post-recession credit crunch, they remain an important source of capital for companies that need money quickly,” Arora said. “Many small business owners that don’t qualify for loan from traditional sources rely on alternative lenders to get them out of short-term cash flow issues, albeit at high interest rates.”

Rohit Arora

Rohit Arora, Biz2Credit CEO

Credit unions

Credit unions

The approval percentage rate for credit unions remained unchanged at 39.8% in November, only slightly above the record low of 30.7% recorded in September 2019.

Jul 2018
40.3%
Aug 2018
40.2%

Monthly Comparison

Aug 2017
40.3%
Aug 2018
40.2%

Yearly Comparison

“Credit unions are in danger of becoming irrelevant in small business lending. Some of them are making investments in to digital technology so that they can process online loan applications, but many of them have not. They are falling behind as a category of lenders for this reason,” said Arora, who oversees the Biz2Credit research. “Credit unions are technologically behind banks and other lenders, some of them may not be able to survive unless they partner with FinTech platforms that can provide digital capabilities.”

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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