Changes

In the wake of the recession, the loaning environment to small business has changed. This is a result of a few major factors, both on the loaning side (banks) and the receiving one. Starting with the businesses, small businesses were hit disproportionately hard in the recession. A series of studies conducted by the * Harvard Business School [http://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Publication%20Files/15-004_09b1bf8b-eb2a-4e63-9c4e-0374f770856f.pdf] showed that small business accounted for 60% for job losses and experienced an 11% decrease in total employment. **This second figure lies almost twice as high as the total loss for large firms, 7%. Moreover, businesses with fewer than 50 employees realized 14% losses of employment. A study done by the New York Fed [https://www.newyorkfed.org/medialibrary/media/research/current_issues/ci17-4.pdf] corroborates these findings. The NY Fed study actually adds to them, as well. The researchers in this study also conducted a survey, and found that most small business owners indicated that the lack in sales and commercial activity primarily sparked the decline in employment.