Small Business Lending Survey launched

The FDIC has announced the launch of a survey of banks on their small business lending practices. The web-based survey of roughly 2,000 randomly selected FDIC-insured banks will begin in late June and will be administered by the U.S. Census Bureau on behalf of the FDIC. The Small Business Lending Survey (SBLS) will collect data that provide additional insight into many aspects of small business lending, including nationally representative information on the general characteristics of banks' small business borrowers, the types of credit offered to small businesses, and the relative importance of commercial lending for banks of different sizes and business models. Institutions chosen to participate in the SBLS will be contacted by letter at the end of June with directions on how to proceed.