One study suggests that less than a third of small businesses that desire credit would qualify for traditional or SBA-backed loans. In the wake of a devastating financial crisis, banks have continued to tighten their lending practices in order to lower risk levels and comply with tougher regulations.  This leaves millions of small and mid-sized businesses without a source of financing to grow or add new employees.

As the economy continues to struggle toward recovery, it is increasingly important for small and mid-sized businesses bolster their finances.  Since it is well known that small and mid-sized businesses power the economy, it is possible that an increase in lending to this market segment could help further improve economic conditions and job growth.

Even if we are in the beginning of a period of economic growth, the fact remains that any rebound from the recession may be muted and difficult to see in real terms.  Even though economists see recovery, it is still not strong enough to have any real impact on small businesses today.

Companies that are still looking for some form traditional bank financing are better off looking for private asset-based funding.   During times like these, asset-based financing (such as invoice factoring) has come to the aid of the small business sector many times by providing the badly needed financing that traditional lenders are currently unable to consider.

Dealing with an uncertain economy is never easy, especially for small businesses. Unlike their larger counterparts, small businesses rarely have the resources to monitor and take corrective action for every trend and issue. And even those owners who have weathered numerous business cycles may be faced with new circumstances that confound their otherwise successful instincts and knowledge.  But a predictable source of financing can certainly ease this pressure.

If you find your access to credit tight, factoring services from Charter Capital can provide a redily available source of funds for small businesses without the credit restrictions.

Bankers: Credit Tightens for Small Firms

By Angus Loten

July 12, 2011, 4:17 PM ET

As the recovery sputters, bankers are expecting the credit crunch for smaller firms to get worse
before getting any better.

Among 272 risk managers surveyed at banks nationwide in the second quarter, 60% said they expected approval rates for small-business credit and loan applications to stay flat or decline in the months ahead, Minneapolis-based credit-risk firm FICO reported Tuesday.

Over the same period, 73.8% said demand for credit from small business would likely rise, while only 46% said credit extended to these firms would increase, the survey found. Another 28.1% expected delinquency rates by small-business borrowers to ease, compared to 36.2% in the first quarter, while 33% percent expected the rates to rise.

By contrast, the outlook for consumer credit was more positive, with credit-card delinquencies and charge-offs at pre-recession levels, according to Andrew Jennings, FICO’s chief analytics officer. “Although some consumers continue to struggle with debt, credit usage is under control at an aggregate level,” Jennings said in a statement.

Tighter credit for smaller firms is “most likely in response to a perceived slowing of the economy, which would likely affect small businesses more so than larger organizations,” the report said.

Citing data from more than 1,000 small-business loan applications, Biz2Credit Tuesday reported that approval ratings for small-business loans by large banks dropped to 8.9% in June from 9.4% in May. Loans at smaller banks fell to 42.5% from 44%, the New York-based lending broker reported.

The declines were blamed on weaker revenue and lower profits.

Diesel prices fell to an average $4.06 per gallon, down from $4.10 last week.

A housing forecast by the National Association of Home Builders echoes this dismal news. It expects 597,000 total housing starts for all of 2011, a slight increase from 2010, but far below the 1.8 million housing starts in the glory days of 2006. For 2012, it expects a modest bump up to 800,000 housing starts. According to NAHB, there’s about a nine month supply of homes (including condos and townhouses) available on the market in April 2011, up about a month from March 2011 and up about a month from April 2010.

Diesel prices rose to an average $4.10 per gallon, up from $4.12 last week.

Diesel prices rose to an average $4.11 per gallon, up from $4.08 last week. Diesel fuel prices, which averaged $2.98 per gallon last summer, are projected to average $4.09 per gallon this summer.