Small Business Credit Conditions are Stable, Optimism Increases
August 13, 2024
Delaney Sexton
Contributing Editor
Small Business Credit Conditions are Stable, Optimism Increases
“Despite this increase in optimism, the road ahead remains tough for the nation’s small business owners,” says NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg. “Cost pressures, especially labor costs, continue to plague small business operations, impacting their bottom line. Owners are heading towards unpredictable months ahead, not knowing how future economic conditions or government policies will impact them.”
Credit conditions have remained stable for small businesses since June. There have been slight fluctuations, but the July report shows similar results to the June report. The NFIB Small Business Optimism Index saw some changes and reached its highest reading since February 2022. Here are the facts:
- 3% of small business owners reported that financing was their top business problem in July, down one percentage point from June.
- A quarter of small business owners had all their borrowing needs met in July.
- Down 2 percentage points from June, only 2% of owners said that their borrowing needs were not met.
- 62% of small businesses are not interested in getting a loan.
- 27% of small business owners reported borrowing on a regular basis.
- Of businesses that recently obtained a loan, 6% said that they had a harder time getting their last loan than previous attempts.
- 15% of owners paid a higher interest rate on their most recent loan, unchanged from June and the lowest reading since May 2022.
- On short maturity loans, the average interest rate paid was 9.4%, down 0.1% from last month.