With the demise of Advanta business credit cards, which focused on small business credit, one might assume that the credit situation for small business is bleak. (I got my notice that my card will soon be, as they say here in eastern Europe, kaput).
But a new study from the SBA on small business bank credit shows that there is credit out there.
The study finds that for the year that ended in June 2008, the total value of small business loans outstanding increased 4 percent and the value of microbusiness loans outstanding increased 6.8 percent. Both rates were down from the previous one-year period, but they were still in positive territory.
The largest increase was in the number of microbusiness loans (under $100,000), which were up by 15.7 percent. This may be an indication that more loans are being made through business credit cards. The number of mid-sized loans ($100,000 to $1 million) fell by 23.3 percent.
Small businesses that are looking for loans will find the report useful because it provides state-by-state rankings of banks and other financial institutions on their small business lending. These rankings show who made the most small and microloans in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia.