Small Business Lending Is Up: Here Are the 10 Banks Leading the Charge

Small business lending increased for the first time in 10 quarters, according to the SBA.
By Samuel Wagreich | Mar 20, 2013

Lending to small businesses is up for the first time in 10 quarters, according to a report released by the Small Business Administration this month. In their quarterly bulletin on lending, the SBA detailed how Data from FDIC Call Reports shows that business lending increased 0.4 percent between September and December 2012 to $586 billion.

Lenders reported that they had eased lending standards for both commercial and industrial (C&I) loans as well as commercial real estate (CRE) loans. But while terms for C&I loans have loosened, terms for CRE loans have remained relatively tight—despite increasing demand for them.

Leading the charge in terms of loans to small businesses in 2012 was Wells Fargo, which lent a total of $32.8 billion, according to a report released Monday by SNL Financial Services. Here’s a list of the top 10 lenders to small businesses for 2012 according to the report:

  1. Wells Fargo: $32.8 billion, 664,542 loans
  2. Bank of America: $26.2 billion, 376,625 loans
  3. JPMorgan Chase: $19.8 billion, 1,357,168 loans
  4. American Express Bank: $16.9 billion, N/A
  5. U.S. Bank: $13.8 billion, 669,904 loans
  6. PNC Bank: $9.9 billion, 215,083 loans
  7. Branch Banking and Trust Co.: $9.1 billion, 301,650 loans
  8. Citibank: $9.1 billion, 1,911,687 loans
  9. Regions Banks: $6.9 billion, 59,487 loans
  10. TD Bank: $6.0 billion, 61,244 loans