Banks Show Increasing Willingness to Lend Capital to Small Businesses

Small business growth is crucial to the future of the American economy. Fortunately, the country’s major financial institutions have begun to take notice.

According to The Washington Post, lending by big banks to small businesses is now at a record high. The news source cited research data from online lending organization Biz2Credit, which analyzed over 1,000 small business loan applications and found that major banks are increasingly willing to take them seriously.

This is important because, as The Washington Post notes, small businesses are now creating two out of every three new jobs in America. While many of the large employers are relatively stagnant and therefore reluctant to add more staff, many startups are willing to hire aggressively, and getting capital from the banks can help them do it. Biz2Credit revealed that for the first time, big banks are willing to approve 25 percent of all applications for small business loans.

“This bodes well as we enter a new year,” Biz2Credit Chief Executive Rohit Arora told The Washington Post. “It is helpful for young entrepreneurs, who might not have credit scores high enough for a traditional bank loan, that SBA-backed loans are available through big banks and smaller ones.”

It’s important to note that while the major financial institutions can promise the most money for aspiring small business owners, they still aren’t the highest percentage play. Smaller banks, at the regional and community levels, are approving about 49 percent of small business loan applications, a much higher rate for the big banks. Institutional investors like pension funds are also approving 64 percent of requests, and credit unions are a promising avenue for entrepreneurs as well.

Despite the rise in small businesses’ loan success rates, there are still no guarantees. Any source of capital, large or small, is sure to take a close look at a small business owner’s financial track record and the collateral they have to offer. Banks are always going to be risk averse. Despite all that, now’s as good a time to own a small business.