Recent Financial Regulatory Measures and Other Policy Initiatives to Address Problems in Small Business Lending and Hiring

What's New: Small Business Lending Survey

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) launched a survey of banks regarding their small business lending practices including:

• nationally representative information on the general characteristics of banks’ small business borrowers,
• the types of credit offered to small businesses, and
• the relative importance of commercial lending for banks of different sizes and business models. 

It will also look at data for banks in urban and rural communities.  The survey will provide new information on banks’ market areas for small business lending and their perceived competition. 

This  web-based survey of roughly 2,000 randomly selected FDIC-insured banks will begin in late June and will be administered by the U.S. Census Bureau on behalf of the FDIC.

• FDIC Press Release: FDIC Initiates Small Business Lending Survey
• Business Help Site (Census.gov)
• Frequently Asked Questions (Census.gov)
• Flyer (Census.gov)
• Forms & Instructions (Census.gov)
• Federal Register Citation & Comments

Overcoming Obstacles to Small Business Lending

FDIC Small Business Forum: Issues Raised

On January 13, 2011, the FDIC hosted a Forum, "Overcoming Obstacles to Small Business Lending." The Forum explored ways in which credit can be made more accessible to the small business sector. The FDIC recognizes that small businesses are critical to fueling the nation's economic growth, and their ability to generate new jobs depends, in large part, on access to credit.

• Event Transcript - PDF (PDF Help)
• Small Business Forum - Photo Essay

Other Reference Materials

Microenterprise Development: A Primer - PDF (PDF Help)
FDIC Quarterly, 4th Quarter, 2010

Additional information and resources are available throughout the menu on the left side of this page, including a link to the new Business Assistance Form (En Español) that provides a form for small businesses that may have an inquiry or concern about the availability of credit.

National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) Monthly Survey