More Than 30% of Small Business Owners Applied for SBA Loans in 2022

According to a survey from Balboa Capital that asked small business owners about their Small Business Administration (SBA) loan borrowing practices and volumes in 2022, 31.25% of small business owners applied for SBA loans in 2022 and 61.9% of SBA loan requests were approved. The survey was sent to a sample of small business owners across the United States during the first two weeks of 2023.

“Small businesses drive local and regional communities and the national economy, and their growth and success depend on access to capital,” Kevin Umeda, vice president and director of sales administration at Balboa Capital, said. “While several small funding options are available for small business owners, we wanted to gauge the demand for SBA loans in 2022. Beyond evaluating demand for these loans, our survey speaks to businesses’ interest in the various types of SBA loans out there and the approval rate among respondents.”

Balboa Capital’s survey revealed that the most popular types of SBA loan products that small business owners applied for in 2022 included Standard 7(a) loans (30.43%), SBA Express Loans (26.09%) and CDC/504 loans (21.74%). Among small business owners who applied for SBA loan products, in addition to the 61.9% of loan requests that were approved, 23.81% were denied and 14.29% are still being reviewed or processed. Regarding the amount of SBA funding requested, 63.64% of small business owners requested up to $499,999, 31.82% requested between $500,000 and $999,999 and 4.55% requested more than $1 million.