Biz2Credit's October Small Business Lending IndexsuperscriptstartTMsuperscruptend Shows Highest Spike in Big Bank Lending since the Great Recession

Big Bank and Institutional Lender Loan Approval Rates Continue to Thrive

The monthly analysis of 1,000 loan applications from ahrefstartBiz2Credit.comahrefend. revealed continued growth for institutional lenders and big banks, but steady decline for small banks and credit unions.

Big Banks

Big Banks

Big banks ($10 billion+ in assets) saw a surprising spike in their approval numbers -- the highest approval rates since after the end of the Great Recession. October showed 22.8% of small business loan approvals, up from 22.5% in September.

Aug 2018
26.5%
Sep 2018
26.7%

Monthly Comparison

Aug 2018
26.5%
Sep 2018
26.7%

Yearly Comparison

"As interest rates start going up, we expect further increase in the Big Banks appetite for small business loans. Big Banks are also warming up to buy more loans from the marketplace lenders".

Rohit Arora

Rohit Arora, Biz2Credit CEO

Small Banks

Small Banks

Lending approval rates at small banks stayed flat at 49% in October, the same as in September.

Jul 2018
49.7%
Aug 2018
49.8%

Monthly Comparison

Aug 2017
49%
Aug 2018
49.8%

Yearly Comparison

"Small Banks have been slow to adapt to new ways of lending in the small business space, especially incorporating online platforms, and thus their approvals have started to slide down." .

Rohit Arora

Rohit Arora, Biz2Credit CEO

Institutional lenders

Institutional lenders

Institutional Lenders continued its month-over-month growth, reaching 62.2% , up from 62% in September.

Jul 2018
64.8%
Aug 2018
64.9%

Monthly Comparison

Jul 2018
63.9%
Aug 2018
64.9%

Yearly Comparison

"We are seeing an increasing demand from institutional investors who want to buy dollar backed assets that have a decent yield as well as low regulatory risks. Right now, small business loans fit both the criteria and thus more institutional investors are buying a greater number of loans at lower yield and longer terms. This also reflects on the growing maturity of marketplace lending, which is becoming more mainstream now as an asset class" .

Rohit Arora

Rohit Arora, Biz2Credit CEO

Alternative lenders

Alternative lenders

Alternative lenders dropped slightly in October to 60.8% down from 60.9% in September.

Jul 2018
56.5%
Aug 2018
56.6%

Monthly Comparison

Aug 2017
57.1%
Aug 2018
56.6%

Yearly Comparison

"Alternative lenders approval rates have gone down as they have not been willing to lower their APR pricing thus leading to higher quality customers turning down their offers and borrowing more money from Institutional lenders through marketplace platforms. " .

Rohit Arora

Rohit Arora, Biz2Credit CEO

Credit unions

Credit unions

Credit unions approved 42.5% of loan applications in October, down two-tenths of a percent compared to September.

Jul 2018
40.3%
Aug 2018
40.2%

Monthly Comparison

Aug 2017
40.3%
Aug 2018
40.2%

Yearly Comparison

"Credit Union approvals are at their lowest from the time of starting this Lending Index and the main reason is lack of clarity on the cap which limits credit unions to lend only upto 12.5% of their asset base to small businsses and the pending legistation which will allow the credit unions to lend up to 27.5% of their asset base as well as lack of investments in the digital space.".

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.

x
”Your browser does not support the images displayed on this website. Please try to access the site from the latest version of Google Chrome, Safari, Microsoft Edge or Mozilla Firefox”