by Calculated Risk on 5/29/2013 12:03:00 PM

From J.D. Harrison at the WaPo: Small business lending freeze starting to thaw

The credit health of small companies across the country improved during the first quarter of 2013, according to a new report by Experian and Moody’s Analytics ... Sageworks, a financial information firm, released its latest private company report earlier this week, which shows that the average risk of business loan default has dropped to 4.1 percent from 5.1 percent last April.
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“The improvement in default rates coupled with healthy sales and profitability show that private companies may be well positioned to borrow,” said Sageworks Chairman Brian Hamilton.

The small business lending Index from Direct Capital, which provides equipment leasing and business loans, backs up that claim, showing that small business borrowing demand ticked higher nationwide for the fourth straight month in April. Over that period, the number of small business owners seeking loans has surged 44 percent compared to the first four months of 2012.

But are they actually finding the capital they need? More and more of them, yes, according to online lending platform Biz2Credit’s monthly survey.

The report showed the nation’s largest banks approved 16.8 percent of small business loans in April, up from 15.7 percent in March and 10.6 percent in April 2012.

Small businesses have been slow to recover, partially because so many small businesses are real estate and retail related.  Improving credit is a positive sign and might lead to more small business hiring.