The purpose of this paper is to examine the status of small-business lending following the recession.
The authors survey the literature and analyze recent surveys of small-business lending.
The results reinforce the importance of owner equity as a primary source of small-business financing. In addition, the authors find that small firms have been seeking and obtaining less capital since the 2008 financial crisis.
The findings about the main sources of small-business financing will be informative when formulating financial regulation.
The available evidence suggests that new regulation of the financial services industry may be restricting access to products that small-business owners rely on and may adversely affect small banks.
The authors offer the most recent analysis of small-business financing, focusing on changes that may have been caused by the recession and major financial regulations.
