Lending from big banks and financial institutions to U.S. small businesses hit record highs last year, according to The Washington Post, citing a newly released index from online lending marketplace Biz2Credit.
The big banks approved 25% of small business loans while institutional investors, like pension funds, have an approval rate of more than 64%. Regional and community banks approved around 49% of their funding requests from small businesses. That figure is slightly behind the 50% level reached back in October 2014, but historically strong.
Fueling the higher loan approvals by smaller banks is guarantees from the Small Business Administration.
“This bodes well as we enter a new year,” says Rohit Arora, chief executive of Biz2Credit. “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.”
