WASHINGTON, Nov. 26 (UPI) -- The National Federation of Independent Businesses said small companies indicated in a survey that the ability to obtain loans had improved.
Small businesses have been a critical factor in lowering unemployment rates in previous recessions. But loans are a key to small business expansion, as small companies don't issue bonds as corporations do, USA Today reported Friday.
The NFIB said in a November survey the number of small businesses indicating loans were harder to obtain than they were three years ago had dropped to the lowest level in more than two years.
"This looks to us like the start of a serious improvement," Chief Economist Ian Shepherdson at High Frequency Economics told the newspaper.
"The small firm sector, which has been keeping (first-time unemployment benefit) claims high, is improving," he said.
Some analysts say the key to a small business turnaround is confidence.
"Banks have worked through a lot of their problems. The industry is in better position to increase lending," said Paul Merski, chief economist of the Independent Community Bankers of America.
"Eventually, for banks to become profitable, you have to start taking on some risk," he said.
