Big Banks Hit Record High Small Business Loan Approval Percentages in October, According to Biz2Credit Small Business Lending IndexsuperscriptstartTMsuperscruptend

Loan application volume and approvals rise for banks, institutional lenders and alternative lenders.

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

Big Banks

Big Banks

The October approval percentage for big banks (assets of $10 billion+) rose two-tenths of a percent from September's figure of 26.7% to 26.8%, 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 is high, according to the ahrefstartNFIB Small Business Optimism Indexahrefend, which has had a two-year upward trend. According to the NFIB, 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
Hiring is up, and much of that is due to small business growth. Nonfarm employment rose by 250,000 in October, and the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 3.7 percent, according to The Bureau of Labor Statistics' ahrefstartNovember 2 Jobs Reportahrefend. Sectors that saw the largest job growth were health care, manufacturing, construction, and transportation and warehousing.

"While there were some fluctuations in the stock market during October, the economy is still very strong," , who oversees the Index. "There is still much optimism among small business owners, and they are anticipating a strong holiday season. All these factors combine for a robust small business lending market right now"

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 October, 50.1% up two-tenths from September. It was the first month in which small banks approved more loans than they rejected since October 2014. "In October 2018, the first month of SBA's 2019 Fiscal Year, the agency guaranteed almost $2.5 billion in small business loans nationwide. In the New York District, that number was $84.3 million, or 16 percent more than last October," said Beth Goldberg, Director of the New York District SBA Office which serves all of New York City, Long Island and the Lower Hudson Valley.

Jul 2018
49.7%
Aug 2018
49.8%

Monthly Comparison

Aug 2017
49%
Aug 2018
49.8%

Yearly Comparison

"Small banks are granting ahrefstartSBA loansahrefend at a great pace. By providing government guarantees against default and mitigating lender risk, the agency is providing incentives for banks to lend and opportunities for small business owners to secure capital,"

Rohit Arora

Rohit Arora, Biz2Credit CEO

Institutional lenders

Institutional lenders

institutional lenders jumped from 64.5% to 64.8% in October.

Jul 2018
64.8%
Aug 2018
64.9%

Monthly Comparison

Jul 2018
63.9%
Aug 2018
64.9%

Yearly Comparison

"The rising tide floats all the boats. Institutional lenders, like the banks, are funding deals at a high rate,"

Rohit Arora

Rohit Arora, Biz2Credit CEO

Alternative lenders

Alternative lenders

Loan approval rates among alternative lenders increased from 56.6% in September to 56.8% in October.

Jul 2018
56.5%
Aug 2018
56.6%

Monthly Comparison

Aug 2017
57.1%
Aug 2018
56.6%

Yearly Comparison

"Alternative lenders provide quick funding for companies that might not qualify for traditional bank loans," Arora explained. "While their interest rates are high, the capital they provide is often a lifeline for a cash-strapped company. There will always be a marketplace for this type of lending."

Rohit Arora

Rohit Arora, Biz2Credit CEO

Credit unions

Credit unions

Credit unions approved 40.3% of loan applications in October, the same percentage as in September, 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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