businesses through the SBA programs. As of August 2009,
the monthly SBA loan approval rate of $1.37 billion is
now closer to the FY08 monthly average of $1.5 billion.1
Credit Supply and Demand Both Impacted
In spite of this progress, the supply of credit still
remains restricted. According to the July 2009 Federal
Reserve Board’s Senior Loan Officer Survey, banks have
slightly tightened (35.2% of all banks) or maintained
their previously tightened lending standards (61.1% of
all banks).2
A large percentage (60.4%) of small business
owners report using some type of credit to finance their
firms3
, and for those who are now seeking credit, they may
need to make adjustments. One method for small business
owners seeking credit in a more difficult lending environment
is to provide credit enhancements namely in
the form of personal commitments, which are personal
guarantees or pledges of personal collateral such as stocks
or real estate. This personal pledge provides lenders additional
assurances against risk of loss in the event that the
borrower is unable to repay his loan.
Generally, knowing how and when small business
owners use personal assets is challenging due to the very
limited small business data sources available. Although
slightly dated, an informative research paper by Avery,