Small Business Lending/ Small Business Saturday

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! On November 8th, Biz2Credit released their Small Business Lending Index. They did an analysis of loan approvals for 1,000 loan applications in October and found that small banks approved 46.3% , big banks[institutions with $10 billion plus in assets] 9.2% and alternative lenders[credit unions ,Community Development Financial Institutions, micro lenders and others] 61.5%.

The Index identified the Top 5 reasons why small business borrowers have not been received funding.

1.More than 68% of small businesses reported declining sales in the first 8 months of 2011

2. Profitability has declined at more than 86% of small businesses over the last 2 years.

3.Bank underwriting criteria is stricter now than in 2010 when stimulus money was flowing.

4.Uncertainty among big banks is leading to increased dissatisfaction among small business owners.

5. Avoidance: small business owners believe they are unlikely to get loans and that the process takes too long.

I hope all of you are promoting Small Business Saturday. I hope you are able to use this to promote your business. Please see email from SBA below.

Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188

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Make a Big Difference on Small Business Saturday®

SBA says shopping at small businesses can have a huge impact on local economy

WASHINGTON – As a proud supporter of Small Business Saturday®, a day dedicated to supporting small businesses on one of the busiest shopping weekends of the year, the U.S. Small Business Administration is encouraging every American to support small businesses by doing some of their holiday shopping on the Saturday after Thanksgiving at small businesses.

This year’s Small Business Saturday® is Nov. 26, 2011.

“Small businesses are the foundation of our economy – half of America’s workers either own or work for a small business,” said SBA Administrator Karen Mills. “Small Business Saturday® is an opportunity to show our support for our friends and neighbors who throughout the year are growing our local economy, as well as supporting many local initiative and organizations.”

Nov. 26 marks the second annual Small Business Saturday®, a day to support the local small businesses that create jobs, boost the economy and preserve neighborhoods around the country. First there was Black Friday, and then Cyber Monday, and now Small Business Saturday® will help drive shoppers to America’s job creators. Small businesses have generated two out of every three net new jobs over the past 15 years and employ over half of all private sector employees.

For more information on how to support Small Business Saturday® in your area, or to get great Small Business Saturday® marketing tips and resources, check out www.sba.gov/saturday or visit Facebook.com/smallbusinesssaturday and follow us on Twitter @SBAgov, #SmallBizSat.

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Best,

Chris Chan
Special Advisor for Public Engagement
Office of Communication and Public Liaison
Small Business Administration (SBA)