WASHINGTON – Approximately 2,000 U.S. banks have been invited to participate in a nationally representative online survey about their small business lending practices and volumes.
Sponsored by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and administered by the U.S. Census Bureau, the 2022 Small Business Lending Survey provides a comprehensive view of small business lending by banks and will significantly expand the FDIC’s and the public’s understanding of the impact banks have on the nation’s small businesses.
“Banks are uniquely poised to meet the credit needs of small businesses, which are an important component of the U.S. economy,” FDIC Acting Chairman Martin J. Gruenberg and Census Director Robert L. Santos said in a message to selected institutions. “Your participation in the survey will provide valuable information to the FDIC, other policymakers, and the general public about the contribution of U.S. banks to small business lending.”
Banks are the most common source of external financing for small businesses, which account for nearly all U.S. firms. Despite the importance of small businesses to the U.S. economy and the importance of bank lending to small businesses, there is little high-quality data on this activity. The last Small Business Lending Survey occurred in 2016; the 2022 survey aims to fill gaps in the understanding of current bank lending to this vital sector, Gruenberg said.
The Census selected approximately 2,000 banks of all sizes and from all geographic areas in the U.S. to participate in the survey, including institutions primarily regulated by the FDIC, the Federal Reserve System and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. The selected banks include all FDIC-insured institutions with assets of $3 billion or more as well as a random sample of banks with assets of less than $3 billion. All survey responses will be confidential and anonymous, and the FDIC will report only the aggregated results.
To answer any questions that bankers may have about the 2022 survey, the FDIC will host four informational sessions on May 11, 12, 16 and 17.