Data Update: CRA Small Business and Small Farm Lending

CRA small business and small farm data is now updated on PolicyMap with the most recently available (2010) data! While the earlier days of the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) were marked by a great interest in tracking home lending, over time there has been growing concern regarding the role of accessible credit in other areas, such as small business and economic development, in revitalizing neighborhoods. Given the growing need for data in these areas, the 1995 revisions of CRA regulations included small business and community development disclosure requirements NCRC. CRA small business and small farm data is currently available on PolicyMap (at the bottom of the Lending Activity tab) from 2004-2010.

Accessing this data on PolicyMap enables users to see the geographic distribution of small business and small farm loan originations by loan amount as well as by size of the borrower. Users can also look at the distribution of loans originated by the 10 lenders that did the greatest amount of lending in 2010. According to the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC), a total of 880 lenders reported on their loan originations and purchases, a slight decrease from the 941 who reported in 2009. While the quantity and dollar amount of small business and farm loans are available both by county and census tract, users may notice that the dataset is limited in that individual lender data is not disclosed at the census tract level.

So what does the 2010 data show? For one, it reveals that only three counties saw an increase in the number of small business loans between 2008 and 2010: Issaquena, MS; Hart, KY; and Schley, GA. In the case of small farms, however, just over 300 counties experienced an increase in the number of small farm loans over this two-year period.

Also, as seen in the maps below, the vast majority of small business and small farm loans are smaller than $100,000.

In terms of who is receiving loans, the majority of small farm borrowers have annual revenue of less than $1 million.

For more about this dataset, as well as guidance in interpreting it, read this FFIEC analysis