One-Half of All Small Businesses Apply for Financing, One-Half of Requests Get Fully Funded 

April 16, 2025

Bob Coleman
Founder & Publisher

One-Half of All Small Businesses Apply for Financing, One-Half of Requests Get Fully Funded 

Continuing our reporting from the 2025 Federal Reserve Banks’ Small Business Credit Survey on employer firms, today we focus on small business financing needs and application outcomes.

More than half of firms sought some type of financing in the 12 months prior to the survey. Firms most often applied for financing to meet operating expenses.

Reasons for applying:

• 56% to meet operating expenses
• 46% to expand business, purchase new opportunity, or acquire business assets
• 40% to have available credit for future use as needed
• 27% to make repairs or replace capital assets
• 27% to refinance or pay down debt

Financing received:

• 41% received all financing
• 14% received most
• 22% received some
• 24% received none

Reasons applicants did not receive full amount of financing:

• 73% of businesses were not approved for at least some of the financing sought
• 28% of businesses did not accept some or all of the approved financing

Reasons discouraged borrowers did not expect to be approved:

• 71% weak business financials
• 29% “Lenders do not approve financing for businesses like mine”
• 25% lender requirements too strict
• 24% was denied financing previously
• 2% missing documentation

Applicants that were denied financing cited the following reasons for denial:

• 43% lender requirements too strict
• 41% too much debt already
• 31% “Lenders do not approve financing for businesses like mine”
• 29% insufficient collateral
• 29% low credit score
• 27% weak sales

Source: 2025 Federal Reserve Banks’ Small Business Credit Survey