According to the most recent results of the Biz2Credit Small Business Lending Index, small business loan approval rates at the nation’s biggest banks rose to 19.4% in April 2014. This is up from 18.8% in March, and it represents a record high since the start of the recession.

ID-10015674While this is certainly good news, is it a telltale sign that the economy is steadily improving? If more established businesses are starting to seek out loans which presumably would be used for hiring, expansion, and capital purchases, it would seem so. The truth is that banks generally look at three years worth of sales history. This year marks three years after the recession officially “ended” in 2011. To qualify for bank financing, these businesses had to have performed well post recession.

But, a closer look at the results of the survey may reveal that the recovery may not be so great after all. Small business loan approval rates at small banks actually decreased to 51.1% in April 2014, down from 51.6% last month, and the same pattern was seen with credit unions (43.5% down from 43.6%). Perhaps most telling is that lending approval rates at alternative lenders dropped for the fourth consecutive month to 63.5% in April from 63.6% in March 2014.

What does this all mean? It may mean that there is a growing schism among America’s small businesses. Big banks tend to attract and approve only the most credit-worthy businesses. These businesses usually have more assets and are more established and… they tend to be bigger as well. The definition of a “small business” among the nation’s biggest banks is a company with less than $20 million dollars in sales!

On the other hand, small banks, credit unions, and alternative lenders, in particular, get more requests from newer, less asset-rich businesses as well as those struggling with bad credit. If these institutions are approving fewer loans, chances are good that the pool of applicants are more risky and worse off than they were even a few months ago.

Changes the whole picture, doesn’t it?

What do you think? Do you feel there has been some real recovery since the recession or is it mostly smoke and mirrors?

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