metric,value,source_org,source_title,url,category,verified_on
Line of credit applicants fully approved,45%,Federal Reserve Banks,"Small Business Credit Survey: 2026 Report on Employer Firms (2025 survey, 6,525 firms)",https://www.fedsmallbusiness.org/-/media/project/clevelandfedtenant/fsbsite/reports/2026/2026-report-on-employer-firms/2026-report-on-employer-firms.pdf,Approval,2026-09-25
Line of credit applicants partially approved,31%,Federal Reserve Banks,"Small Business Credit Survey: 2026 Report on Employer Firms (2025 survey, 6,525 firms)",https://www.fedsmallbusiness.org/-/media/project/clevelandfedtenant/fsbsite/reports/2026/2026-report-on-employer-firms/2026-report-on-employer-firms.pdf,Approval,2026-09-25
Line of credit applicants denied,24%,Federal Reserve Banks,"Small Business Credit Survey: 2026 Report on Employer Firms (2025 survey, 6,525 firms)",https://www.fedsmallbusiness.org/-/media/project/clevelandfedtenant/fsbsite/reports/2026/2026-report-on-employer-firms/2026-report-on-employer-firms.pdf,Approval,2026-09-25
All financing applicants receiving full amount,42% (41% prior year),Federal Reserve Banks,"Small Business Credit Survey: 2026 Report on Employer Firms (2025 survey, 6,525 firms)",https://www.fedsmallbusiness.org/-/media/project/clevelandfedtenant/fsbsite/reports/2026/2026-report-on-employer-firms/2026-report-on-employer-firms.pdf,Approval,2026-09-25
"Full approval, small banks (loans, lines, MCA)",57%,Federal Reserve Banks,"Small Business Credit Survey: 2026 Report on Employer Firms (2025 survey, 6,525 firms)",https://www.fedsmallbusiness.org/-/media/project/clevelandfedtenant/fsbsite/reports/2026/2026-report-on-employer-firms/2026-report-on-employer-firms.pdf,Lenders,2026-09-25
"Full approval, finance companies",50%,Federal Reserve Banks,"Small Business Credit Survey: 2026 Report on Employer Firms (2025 survey, 6,525 firms)",https://www.fedsmallbusiness.org/-/media/project/clevelandfedtenant/fsbsite/reports/2026/2026-report-on-employer-firms/2026-report-on-employer-firms.pdf,Lenders,2026-09-25
"Full approval, credit unions",44%,Federal Reserve Banks,"Small Business Credit Survey: 2026 Report on Employer Firms (2025 survey, 6,525 firms)",https://www.fedsmallbusiness.org/-/media/project/clevelandfedtenant/fsbsite/reports/2026/2026-report-on-employer-firms/2026-report-on-employer-firms.pdf,Lenders,2026-09-25
"Full approval, large banks",43%,Federal Reserve Banks,"Small Business Credit Survey: 2026 Report on Employer Firms (2025 survey, 6,525 firms)",https://www.fedsmallbusiness.org/-/media/project/clevelandfedtenant/fsbsite/reports/2026/2026-report-on-employer-firms/2026-report-on-employer-firms.pdf,Lenders,2026-09-25
"Full approval, online lenders",38%,Federal Reserve Banks,"Small Business Credit Survey: 2026 Report on Employer Firms (2025 survey, 6,525 firms)",https://www.fedsmallbusiness.org/-/media/project/clevelandfedtenant/fsbsite/reports/2026/2026-report-on-employer-firms/2026-report-on-employer-firms.pdf,Lenders,2026-09-25
"Full approval, CDFIs",27%,Federal Reserve Banks,"Small Business Credit Survey: 2026 Report on Employer Firms (2025 survey, 6,525 firms)",https://www.fedsmallbusiness.org/-/media/project/clevelandfedtenant/fsbsite/reports/2026/2026-report-on-employer-firms/2026-report-on-employer-firms.pdf,Lenders,2026-09-25
"Applicants using online lenders, 2020 to 2025",17% to 29%,Federal Reserve Banks,"Small Business Credit Survey: 2026 Report on Employer Firms (2025 survey, 6,525 firms)",https://www.fedsmallbusiness.org/-/media/project/clevelandfedtenant/fsbsite/reports/2026/2026-report-on-employer-firms/2026-report-on-employer-firms.pdf,Lenders,2026-09-25
Online-lender borrowers with higher-than-expected costs,"60% (large banks 32%, small banks 37%)",Federal Reserve Banks,"Small Business Credit Survey: 2026 Report on Employer Firms (2025 survey, 6,525 firms)",https://www.fedsmallbusiness.org/-/media/project/clevelandfedtenant/fsbsite/reports/2026/2026-report-on-employer-firms/2026-report-on-employer-firms.pdf,Lenders,2026-09-25
Employer firms using a line of credit regularly,36%,Federal Reserve Banks,"Small Business Credit Survey: 2026 Report on Employer Firms (2025 survey, 6,525 firms)",https://www.fedsmallbusiness.org/-/media/project/clevelandfedtenant/fsbsite/reports/2026/2026-report-on-employer-firms/2026-report-on-employer-firms.pdf,Usage,2026-09-25
Employer firms using credit cards / loans regularly,62% / 44%,Federal Reserve Banks,"Small Business Credit Survey: 2026 Report on Employer Firms (2025 survey, 6,525 firms)",https://www.fedsmallbusiness.org/-/media/project/clevelandfedtenant/fsbsite/reports/2026/2026-report-on-employer-firms/2026-report-on-employer-firms.pdf,Usage,2026-09-25
Credit applicants who applied for a line of credit,43%,Federal Reserve Banks,"Small Business Credit Survey: 2026 Report on Employer Firms (2025 survey, 6,525 firms)",https://www.fedsmallbusiness.org/-/media/project/clevelandfedtenant/fsbsite/reports/2026/2026-report-on-employer-firms/2026-report-on-employer-firms.pdf,Usage,2026-09-25
Employer firms that applied for a line in prior 12 months,24%,Federal Reserve Banks,"Small Business Credit Survey: 2026 Report on Employer Firms (2025 survey, 6,525 firms)",https://www.fedsmallbusiness.org/-/media/project/clevelandfedtenant/fsbsite/reports/2026/2026-report-on-employer-firms/2026-report-on-employer-firms.pdf,Usage,2026-09-25
"Employer firms that applied for any loan, line, or MCA",38%,Federal Reserve Banks,"Small Business Credit Survey: 2026 Report on Employer Firms (2025 survey, 6,525 firms)",https://www.fedsmallbusiness.org/-/media/project/clevelandfedtenant/fsbsite/reports/2026/2026-report-on-employer-firms/2026-report-on-employer-firms.pdf,Usage,2026-09-25
Top denial reason: lender requirements too strict,46%,Federal Reserve Banks,"Small Business Credit Survey: 2026 Report on Employer Firms (2025 survey, 6,525 firms)",https://www.fedsmallbusiness.org/-/media/project/clevelandfedtenant/fsbsite/reports/2026/2026-report-on-employer-firms/2026-report-on-employer-firms.pdf,Denials,2026-09-25
Denial reason: too much debt,37%,Federal Reserve Banks,"Small Business Credit Survey: 2026 Report on Employer Firms (2025 survey, 6,525 firms)",https://www.fedsmallbusiness.org/-/media/project/clevelandfedtenant/fsbsite/reports/2026/2026-report-on-employer-firms/2026-report-on-employer-firms.pdf,Denials,2026-09-25
Denial reason: low credit score,30%,Federal Reserve Banks,"Small Business Credit Survey: 2026 Report on Employer Firms (2025 survey, 6,525 firms)",https://www.fedsmallbusiness.org/-/media/project/clevelandfedtenant/fsbsite/reports/2026/2026-report-on-employer-firms/2026-report-on-employer-firms.pdf,Denials,2026-09-25
"Full approval, firms 0 to 5 years old vs. 21+ years",48% vs. 63%,Federal Reserve Banks,"Small Business Credit Survey: 2026 Report on Employer Firms (2025 survey, 6,525 firms)",https://www.fedsmallbusiness.org/-/media/project/clevelandfedtenant/fsbsite/reports/2026/2026-report-on-employer-firms/2026-report-on-employer-firms.pdf,Denials,2026-09-25
"Prime rate, Dec 11 2025 to Sep 16 2026",6.75%,Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED),"Bank Prime Loan Rate (DPRIME), from Federal Reserve H.15",https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/DPRIME,Rates,2026-09-25
Prime rate from Sep 17 2026,7.00%,Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED),"Bank Prime Loan Rate (DPRIME), from Federal Reserve H.15",https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/DPRIME,Rates,2026-09-25
"Average variable line rate, urban banks, Q1 2026",7.1%,Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City,"Small Business Lending Survey, Q1 2026 (released June 25, 2026)",https://www.kansascityfed.org/surveys/small-business-lending-survey/small-business-lending-q1-2026/,Rates,2026-09-25
"Average fixed line rate, urban banks, Q1 2026",6.7%,Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City,"Small Business Lending Survey, Q1 2026 (released June 25, 2026)",https://www.kansascityfed.org/surveys/small-business-lending-survey/small-business-lending-q1-2026/,Rates,2026-09-25
SBA 7(a) max variable spread over prime,3.0 to 6.5 points by loan size,U.S. Small Business Administration,"7(a) loan program: terms, conditions, and eligibility",https://www.sba.gov/partners/lenders/7a-loan-program/terms-conditions-eligibility,Rates,2026-09-25
"Average rate, short-maturity small business loans, Aug 2026",7.5%,NFIB,"Small Business Economic Trends, August 2026",https://www.nfib.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/NFIB-SBET-Report-August-2026.pdf,Rates,2026-09-25
"Median bank credit line usage, Q1 2026",40.7%,Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City,"Small Business Lending Survey, Q1 2026 (released June 25, 2026)",https://www.kansascityfed.org/surveys/small-business-lending-survey/small-business-lending-q1-2026/,Utilization,2026-09-25
"Usage, fixed-rate vs. variable-rate lines",52.9% vs. 39.4%,Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City,"Small Business Lending Survey, Q1 2026 (released June 25, 2026)",https://www.kansascityfed.org/surveys/small-business-lending-survey/small-business-lending-q1-2026/,Utilization,2026-09-25
"New credit lines at surveyed banks, year over year, Q1 2026",+31.1%,Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City,"Small Business Lending Survey, Q1 2026 (released June 25, 2026)",https://www.kansascityfed.org/surveys/small-business-lending-survey/small-business-lending-q1-2026/,Utilization,2026-09-25
"Banks tightening / easing max small-firm line size, Q2 2026",3.6% / 5.5%,Federal Reserve Board,"Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey, July 2026, Table 1",https://www.federalreserve.gov/data/sloos/sloos-202607-table-1.htm,Standards,2026-09-25
"Banks tightening small business standards, net, Q1 2026",About 10%,Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City,"Small Business Lending Survey, Q1 2026 (released June 25, 2026)",https://www.kansascityfed.org/surveys/small-business-lending-survey/small-business-lending-q1-2026/,Standards,2026-09-25
"Unused loan commitments, FDIC-insured banks, Q2 2026",$11.34 trillion,FDIC,"Quarterly Banking Profile, Second Quarter 2026",https://www.fdic.gov/quarterly-banking-profile/quarterly-banking-profile-second-quarter-2026.pdf,Standards,2026-09-25
"Owners who borrow regularly, Aug 2026 (historical avg 34%)",25%,NFIB,"Small Business Economic Trends, August 2026",https://www.nfib.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/NFIB-SBET-Report-August-2026.pdf,Standards,2026-09-25
Firms with debt using a personal guarantee,59%,Federal Reserve Banks,"Small Business Credit Survey: 2026 Report on Employer Firms (2025 survey, 6,525 firms)",https://www.fedsmallbusiness.org/-/media/project/clevelandfedtenant/fsbsite/reports/2026/2026-report-on-employer-firms/2026-report-on-employer-firms.pdf,Collateral,2026-09-25
Firms with debt using business / personal assets as collateral,51% / 38%,Federal Reserve Banks,"Small Business Credit Survey: 2026 Report on Employer Firms (2025 survey, 6,525 firms)",https://www.fedsmallbusiness.org/-/media/project/clevelandfedtenant/fsbsite/reports/2026/2026-report-on-employer-firms/2026-report-on-employer-firms.pdf,Collateral,2026-09-25
Small-firm bank lines that are unsecured (2019 data),Less than 5%,Federal Reserve Bank of New York,"Chodorow-Reich, Darmouni, Luck and Plosser, Bank Liquidity Provision Across the Firm Size Distribution, Staff Report 942",https://www.newyorkfed.org/medialibrary/media/research/staff_reports/sr942.pdf,Collateral,2026-09-25
Employer firms with a funding shortfall or unmet need,49%,Federal Reserve Banks,"Small Business Credit Survey: 2026 Report on Employer Firms (2025 survey, 6,525 firms)",https://www.fedsmallbusiness.org/-/media/project/clevelandfedtenant/fsbsite/reports/2026/2026-report-on-employer-firms/2026-report-on-employer-firms.pdf,Gaps,2026-09-25
Employer firms discouraged from applying,4%,Federal Reserve Banks,"Small Business Credit Survey: 2026 Report on Employer Firms (2025 survey, 6,525 firms)",https://www.fedsmallbusiness.org/-/media/project/clevelandfedtenant/fsbsite/reports/2026/2026-report-on-employer-firms/2026-report-on-employer-firms.pdf,Gaps,2026-09-25
"SBA 7(a) average loan, FY2025 (derived)","About $477,000",U.S. Small Business Administration,"SBA delivers record capital to small businesses in FY25 (September 30, 2025)",https://legacy.sba.gov/article/2025/09/30/trump-sba-delivers-record-capital-small-businesses-fy25,SBA,2026-09-25