Small business lending to boom in second half of 2011

6/1/2011

Small business owners have been more fortunate with small business lending, with loan approval jumping by 50 percent to 1,294 during the first quarter of 2011, according to lending service Biz2Cred. However, this is just the beginning, with a number of financial experts expecting lending to improve even through this year.

This will come largely as a result of easing small business lending practices among banks. As Entrepreneur magazine notes, many banks have modified their standards to be more small-business-friendly, which is helping entrepreneurs gain access to the credit they need.

"It's coming back," Maria Coyne, executive vice president of business banking for Cleveland-based KeyBank, which is the small business and consumer banking arm of financial services firm KeyCorp, told the source. "The people who've been on the sidelines are now starting to think about expanding, adding employees and adding equipment."

Many lenders have insisted that small business loan demand has curtailed over recent months, but these latest survey results indicate otherwise.