Small businesses in the United States encountered growing challenges accessing credit in June, according to Equifax’s latest small-business lending index.
Lending volumes fell by 3.3 percent month over month, although they remained up by more than 2 percent from the same period in 2024, according to the report released on Aug. 18.
The index’s three-month moving average jumped to 1 percent, fueled by robust lending activity volumes in April that have since eroded.
Regionally, 23 states experienced year-over-year declines in 12-month rolling lending volumes, with California (minus 10 percent), Nevada (minus 9 percent), and Georgia (minus 6 percent) leading the decline.
Across industries, nominal (noninflation-adjusted) lending decreased in six of the 17 sectors tracked. Accommodation and food services experienced the sharpest decline, while construction, finance and insurance, and retail lending remained stable….
Small-Business Lending Faces Mixed Signals Amid Economic Shifts
