Lendio Study Finds Northeast Business Owners Lead Nation in Loan Approval Rates

More experience and higher revenues counteract the region’s lower-than-average credit scores

SILICON SLOPES, Utah  – November 20, 2019 – Lendio, the nation’s largest marketplace for business loans, today released a new report on small business lending in the Northeast. According to the report, business owners in the Northeast have the highest approval rates for business loans in the nation. The findings are based on small business loan application data submitted through Lendio’s online platform in Q3 2019.

Of the nine northeastern states, seven rank in the top ten states for business loan approvals, including Vermont (No. 1), Massachusetts (No. 2), Connecticut (No. 3), New York (No. 6), New Hampshire (No. 8), Pennsylvania (No. 9) and New Jersey (No. 10).

The high approval rates could be attributed to the region being home to some of the most mature small businesses with some of the highest annual revenues in the nation. Loan approval rates are high in spite of the fact that the region struggles when it comes to average credit scores, which are collectively some of the lowest in the nation.

Key findings from the report show:

• Most small businesses in the Northeast have been in business two years longer than the national average.
• The average annual revenue for small businesses in the Northeast is $816,591. This is higher than the average ($766,960) for businesses in other regions.
• In Q3, the average annual revenue for small businesses in the Northeast increased by 9% over the previous three-quarter average.
• Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont have some of the lowest average small business owner credit scores in the nation, each ranking in the bottom 10 states.

Women-owned businesses in the Northeast have particularly high levels of success when it comes to getting loans. While they represent only 2 out of 10 small business borrowers, they have the highest loan approval rates in the nation.

One such business owner, Cindy Imperatore, owner of Bossy Bridle in Greenwich, Connecticut, recently qualified for a business loan to expand her operation. When Imperatore, who sells high-end equestrian gear, initially wanted to expand her product line, she hit snags with limited capital on hand.

“What I wanted to do was branch into other brands, which we did slowly,” said Imperatore. “But I have found that with most brands, there was a minimum buy of at least $2500 or as high as $8000, depending on the brand or the product. For a small business, that’s a lot of cash to lay out when you’re talking about bringing in two or three brands at once.”

The small business loan she received allowed her to expand her offerings and capture more of the market share. According to the report, small business owners in the Northeast most often seek working capital loans, followed by equipment loans, accounts receivable financing and commercial real estate loans.

“The Northeast has one of the most established economies in the nation, so it should come as no surprise that its small businesses have high levels of success in acquiring the capital they need to continue to grow,” said Brock Blake, CEO and founder of Lendio. “Small businesses are the heartbeat of any economy, and the strength and longevity of Northeast small business sector is a testament to that.”

*States included in Northeast study include Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont.

About SMB Economic Insights:
The SMB Economic Insights report is based on data provided by more than 8,500 small business owners who submitted applications through Lendio’s marketplace between October 1, 2018 and September 30, 2019. Data collected includes the total amount funded, average loan size, business industry, age, gender, credit score, number of bankruptcies and more.