Survey: No Change In the Percent of Small Businesses Seeking Credit from CUs

The percentage of small businesses with employees applying for financing from credit unions was flat, according to the latest Small Business Credit Survey — a joint effort by the 12 regional Federal Reserve Banks.

The survey had responses from 6,614 small employer firms.

The 2018 survey found that 43 percent of employer firms applied for financing in the previous 12 months.

Traditional bank lending remains the primary source of financing for the nation’s small businesses, although the share of applicants seeking financing from online borrowers has grown markedly.

The survey found that 9 percent of these small businesses applied for loans, lines of credit, or cash advances from credit unions. The same percentage of small businesses sought credit from credit unions in 2016 and 2017.

There was a slightly higher percentage of medium/high credit risk borrowers that sought financing from from credit unions compared to low credit risk borrowers. The survey found 12 percent of medium/high credit risk borrowers sought credit from credit unions versus 9 percent of borrowers with low credit risk.

Among firms that did not apply for credit, 7 percent identified using credit unions regularly for loans, lines of credit, or cash advances. This is up from 5 percent in 2016, but down slightly from 8 percent in 2017.

Review the results of the survey.