Main Street Monday — Main Street Lending Credit Quality Stabilizes 

April 20, 2026

Bob Coleman
Founder & Publisher

Main Street Monday — Main Street Lending Credit Quality Stabilizes 

Equifax’s latest Small Business Delinquency and Default Indices tell a steady but important story for Main Street lenders. The headline number is the default index at 3.28%, which remains elevated compared to pre-pandemic levels but has clearly stabilized. We are no longer in the sharp volatility of 2020 through 2022. Instead, what we are seeing is a plateau at a higher baseline, reflecting a lending environment that has normalized but not fully healed.

The more immediate signal of credit quality is short-term delinquencies. Loans 31 to 90 days past due came in at 1.65 percent, edging down both month-over-month and year-over-year. 

Early-stage stress is easing, suggesting that small-business cash flow, while still tight, is not deteriorating further. 

Longer-term delinquencies, those 91 to 180 days past due, are holding at 0.71%.

Put it together, and the message is clear, says Equifax. Credit performance is no longer worsening, but it is not snapping back either. Early-stage delinquencies are improving, which is encouraging, while later-stage delinquencies and defaults remain sticky at elevated levels.