This Letter compares small business loans made by banks inside and outside of a local market area and discusses how the mix might affect the measurement of the degree of competition among lenders.

Historically, small businesses have tended to turn to local lenders for credit. In recent years, however, technological advances in processing information and assessing credit risk have raised the potential for loosening the geographic ties between small business borrowers and lenders. This...

Total business loans under $1 million held by small U.S. banks continue to dwindle. Disproportionate negative growth at financially weak small banks has been an important factor in this decline. Loan volumes at strong small banks actually grew in 2011. The finding supports the view that supply...

This Economic Letter examines what the data say about the relationship between the degree of competition in and total volume of small business lending in local geographic banking markets.

This Economic Letter explores how the credit crunch might affect small business access to finance. While it is not possible to know how severe this credit crunch will become, researchers can explore how the crunch could affect small business finance. We begin our analysis by looking at how small...

Small businesses have relied considerably on securitized markets for credit. The recent financial crisis led to a virtual cessation of securitization of some of the loans used by small businesses, such as commercial real estate mortgages, vehicle, and credit card loans. In addition, values of...