Index reveals small business lending success

11/8/2011

Approval rates for small business financing requests by small banks and non-bank lenders increased to their highest levels of 2011, according to the Biz2Credit Small Business Lending Index, Small Business Trends reports.

The Index, which analyzes 1,000 loan applications on its site, reported that loan approvals increased to 46.3 percent in October - a jump from 45.1 percent in September and a significant rise from the year's lowest point in June of 42.5 percent.

"The economy is getting better and we can see some green shoots of recovery finally which should be encouraging for small business owners," Biz2Credit CEO Rohit Arora told the news source.

Alternative lenders also continue to see a bump in approvals, as facilities such as credit unions and community development financial institutions reported a 61.8 percent approval rate last month.

The perceived unfair practices of some larger banks - such as Bank of America's recent failed attempt to institute a $5 monthly debit card fee - led to the creation of Bank Transfer Day, which took place last week.

The event invited consumers to big banks to close their accounts and move their money to credit unions by November 5, according to its Facebook page.