Office of Advocacy
U.S. Small Business Administration


Small Business Lending in the United States, 2001 Edition

A Directory of Small Business Lending Reported by Commercial
Banks in June 2001


Published October 2002. This report contains research prepared by the Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business
Administration. The opinions and recommendations made herein do not necessarily reflect official policies or statements
of the U.S. Small Business Administration or any agency of the U.S. Government. For further information, contact the 
Office of Advocacy, U.S. Small Business Administration, Mail Code 3112, Washington, DC 20416. The complete study is 
available on the Office of Advocacy website at http://www.sba.gov/advo/stats/lending or on microfiche from the National 
Technical Information Service, Springfield, VA 22161, tel. (703) 487-4650. 

Foreword
The 2001 edition of Small Business Lending in the United States is designed to help small firms identify banks in each
state that are small-business-friendly in their lending in amounts under $1 million. The numbers reflect both the 
outcome of banks supplying loans and small firms demand for loans. Highlights include:

	The dollar value of small business lending continued to increase in 2001, although more slowly than in the 
recent past. Small business lending (loans under $1 million) totaled $460 billion in June 2001, an increase of $23
billion or 5.4 percent over 2000.
	For the first time in years, business lending in smaller loans increased more than lending to large firms. Loans
 over $1 million increased only 0.9 percent from 2000 to 2001.
	The dollar value of loans under $100,000 increased by 4.4 percent; those of $100,000-$250,000 increased 4.1 
percent; and those between $250,000 and $1 million increased 6.4 percent. 
	The number of smaller business loansthose under $100,000  continued to grow at a rapid rateby 10.1 percent,
compared with increases of 5.9 percent and 7.0 percent in larger small business loans. Much of the increase in the 
number of these micro-business loans is the result of the promotion of business credit cards by major banks and 
finance companies. 

Thanks to all who contributed to this report. Comments and suggestions are welcome. Visit Advocacys website at 
http://www.sba.gov/advo/stats/lending for more information. 


Thomas M. Sullivan
Chief Counsel for Advocacy
U. S. Small Business Administration
Contents


Introduction							 1

Part 1: Small Business Lending in the United States		 4

       Findings from the June 2001 Call Reports		 	 4

Small Business Loans Outstanding from All Reporting Banks	 4

Small Business Lending by Multi-Billion-Dollar BHCs	 	 6
	
       Findings from the 2000 CRA Reports		 	 7

Small Business Lending from all CRA Reporting Banks 	 	 7
		
Small Business Lending from Multi-Billion-Dollar BHCs	 	 8

Part 2: Top-Ranking Small Business Lenders	 	 	 8

	Table 1 Top-Ranked Multi-Billion-Dollar BHCs Using Call
       Report Data					         8 

Table 2 Top-Ranked Multi-Billion-Dollar BHCs Using CRA                        
Data							 	 9
 
Table 3 Small Business-Friendly Banks in the State Using Call 
Report Data					           	 9

       Table 4 Top Small Business Lenders in the State Using CRA 
       Data					    		 9
       
     Table 5 Number of Reporting Banks by Bank Asset Size and State   9                 
 
Appendix 							10

Tables								15
	
 
 
Introduction
Access to credit is vital for small business survival. A key supplier of credit to small firms is the commercial banking 
system. Some 67 percent of all small firms that borrowed from traditional sources obtain their money from commercial 
banks, according to the 1998 Survey of Small Business Finances (SSBF). Of a total of $609 billion in small business 
credit outstanding from traditional sources in 1997, commercial banks supplied 64 percent, compared with 12.3 percent for
finance companies, the next most prominent lender. 
How are banks meeting the credit needs of small firms? Knowing such information helps small businesses save precious time
and shop efficiently for creditand it also helps banks to know about the competition in the markets where they participate. 
This eighth annual edition of Small Business Lending in the United States provides current small business loan data to 
small firms and the banks that serve them. The study continues to provide a very brief review/analysis of small business 
lending activities during 2000-2001 based on the data reported by banks to their regulating agencies through call reports 
for June 2001 and Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) reports for 2000. 


Table A. Comparison of Call Report and CRA Databases 	 
	Call Report Data	CRA Data
Loan information provided	Stock of business loans outstanding as of June 2001	Flow of business loans over entire 
calendar year 2000
How location is identified 	Bank headquartered in the state 	Lending activity in the state by all CRA reporting 
banks
Categories of banks covered	All reporting commercial banks and bank holding companies	Banks with $250 million or 
more in assets or members of bank holding companies with more than $1 billion in assets

The call report and CRA databases, while limited, are the only available sources of information on banks small business 
lending patterns. They complement each other, but they provide different kinds of loan information, are identified 
differently by location, and cover different categories of banks (Table A). 
Call reports, officially known as Consolidated Reports of Condition and Income, are quarterly reports filed by financial 
institutions with their bank regulators. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Improvement Act of 1991 requires 
financial institutions to report annually in their June call reports the number and amount of business loans by loan size. 
Data first became available to the public in 1993, more reliable data in 1994.  
The Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 was designed to encourage banks to meet the credit needs of the local communities 
from which they obtain deposited funds. The 1994 revision in the regulations implementing the CRA included a requirement 
that banks report data on small business lending by census tract. To minimize the paperwork burden on small banks, the 
regulatory authorities required only banks with assets over $250 million or member banks of a bank holding company with 
assets over $1 billion to provide this information. Although only about 18 percent of banks are required to file, these 
banks make two-thirds of the loans to small businesses. Given the interstate mergers occurring in the banking industry, 
the CRA data have become more important in understanding small business lending activities by banks and bank holding 
companies (BHCs) in a given state. The weakness of this data set is that other financial information on the banks, such 
as total assets and business loans, are available only by successfully linking the data to the call reports.  
The call report and CRA data both provide useful information, but are not comparable. CRA data reflect the loans being 
made during a given year, while the call reports measure all the loans outstanding as of June 30 (flow of credit versus 
the stock of credit). 
The call reports attribute all lending of a banking organization to the state where the banks headquarters is located, 
while the CRA data report actual lending in a given state. For example, in the call report database, Wells Fargo is shown 
as located in California, but the CRA database shows Wells Fargo lending in all 50 states. A finding in the CRA data is 
that many small business loans are made by banks headquartered in other states. For example, of the major 32 lenders with 
more than $50 million in small business loans in Florida in 2000, the top 20 lenders had out-of-state bank headquarters. 
In Massachusetts, only five of the 12 top lenders with over $50 million in loans had headquarters in the state.
In addition, only the larger banks or bank holding companies are required to report under CRA. Unfortunately the CRA data 
do not include other information about bank performance, so only the amount and number of loans being made can be reported. 
Basing a review solely on the total amount of small business loansand leaving out ratios of small business loans to bank 
assets or total business loansbiases the results in favor of larger banks.
This edition combines two reports previously published separately: the reports on small business lending in the states 
and the bank holding company study. 

Part 1 discusses developments in small business lending by commercial banks in the United States. 
Part 2 provides directories of top small business lenders in the United States overall (for large bank holding companies) 
and in the individual states (for all reporting banks), again using both the call report and CRA data.
	Table 1 ranks the 56 BHCs with total assets in excess of $10 billion each using call report data. The BHCs 
standings in total outstanding small business loans (loans under $1 million) as of June 2001 were ranked in this table. 
	Table 2 ranks the 56 BHCs using CRA data according to the value of small business loans in 2000. Since the 
CRA data provide location-specific information on a banks small business lending, the table also indicates the top 
five states for the BHCs small business lending activity.
	Table 3 provides the list of small-business-friendly banks in each state using call report data.  The list 
includes the top 10 banks or the top 10 percent in a given state, whichever number is smaller (Ties may increase the 
number.) More detail about all banks is provided on the Office of Advocacy website at http://www.sba.gov/advo/stats/lending.
	Table 4 lists top small business lenders in each state using the CRA data. Banks with small business loans in 
excess of $100 million in 2000 in a given state were identified and listed on the basis of the dollar amount of loans made.
	Numbers of reporting banks by asset size are shown in Table 5.


Accessing the Study
All editions of Advocacy lending studies are on the Internet at: http://www.sba.gov/advo/stats/lending. Paper and 
microfiche copies are also available for purchase from the National Technical Information Service, telephone (703) 
487-4650.

Suggestions
Send written comments or suggestions to the Office of Advocacy, U.S. Small Business Administration, Mail Code 3112, 
409 Third St., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20416, or by fax to (202) 205-6928. Technical questions may be addressed to 
Dr. Charles Ou, at (202) 205-6530 or by e-mail: Charles.Ou@sba.gov.


 
Part 1: Small Business Lending in the United States
Findings from the June 2001 Call Reports
Small Business Loans Outstanding from All Reporting Banks 
In contrast to lending patterns during the recession of 1990-1991, when U.S. banks lending to businesses declined 
substantially, the dollar value of small business lending continued to increase between June 2000 and June 2001, 
although at slower rates than in previous years. Both borrowers and lenders held off on new borrowing and lending in 
reaction to a slowing economy and increased uncertainty. 
For the first time in years, lending to small firms increased more than lending to large firms. Small business loans 
outstanding (loans under $1 million) amounted to $460 billion in June 2001, an increase of $23 billion or 5.4 percent 
over the June 2000 level (Table B). Business loans outstanding in June 2001 totaled $1.3 trillion, a slight increase 
($24 billion or 1.9 percent), while the largest loans, those over $1 million, showed little increase0.9 percent 
compared with an average increase of more than 10 percent over the previous four years. There were a number of reasons 
for the smaller increase in large business loans, including declines in loans related to securities trading caused by 
a falloff in stock market activity. Among smaller loans, the smallest loansthose under $100,000increased by 4.4 
percent, compared with 4.1 percent in loans of $100,000 to $250,000, and 6.4 percent in loans of $250,000 to $1 million 
(Table C). Removing the growth in small business credit 


Table B. Dollar Amount and Number of Small Business Loans, 1999 to 2001 (Dollars in Billions, Numbers in Millions)
Loan Size		1999	2000	2001	Percent Change 2000-2001
Under $100,000 	Dollars	113.9 	121.4	126.8	4.4
 	Number	7.73	9.80	10.79	10.12
Under $250,000 	Dollars	195.0	209.4	218.4	4.28
 	Number	8.41	10.54	11.57	9.83
Under $1 Million 	Dollars	 398.5	437.0	460.4	5.36
 	Number	9.00	11.17	12.25	9.67
Total Business Loans 	Dollars	1,142.3	1,300.3	1,324.5	1.87
Source: Summary statistics compiled from call reports, various years.


Table C. Change in the Dollar Amount of Business Loans by Loan Size, 1995-2001 (Percent) 
Loan Size 	95-96	96-971	97-981	98-992	99-00	00-01
Under $100,000	4.8	2.9	3.0	2.5	6.7	4.4
$100,000-$250,000	5.7	5.2	8.1	6.3	8.5	4.1
$250,000-$1 Million	5.7	5.7	7.7	11.2	11.8	6.4
Over $1 Million 	5.1	11.5	13.0	14.6	16.1	0.9
1Changes for 1996-1997 and 1997-1998 were estimated based on revised estimates for Keycorp in 1997.
 2 So that 1998-1999 trends could be shown, 1998 figures were revised to exclude the credit card operation of 
Mountain West Financial, which was purchased by a non-bank financial intermediary and thus excluded from 1999 data. 
Source: Summary statistics compiled from call reports, various years.


Table D. Change in the Number of Small Business Loans by Loan Size, 1995-2000 (Percent)
Loan Size 	96-971	97-981	98-992	99-002	00-01
<$100,000	26.6	19.3	10.1	26.9	10.1
$100,000-$250,000	8.6	1.8	5.4	7.0	5.9
$250,000-$1 Million	8.0	1.4	7.6	8.4	7.0
1Changes for 1996-1997 and 1997-1998 were estimated based on revised estimates for Keycorp in 1997.
 2So that 1998-1999 trends could be shown, 1998 figures were revised to exclude the credit card operation of 
Mountain West Financial, which was purchased by a nonbank financial intermediary and thus excluded from 1999 data.
 Source: Summary statistics compiled from call reports, various years.

cards lowers the growth rate of the smallest loans. The promotion of small business credit cards by major banks and 
several credit card banks over the past several years should benefit small business borrowers, although at much 
higher costs to small businesses.

The number of small business loans also increased in 2000-2001, especially the smallest loans (Table D). The number 
of loans of less than $100,000 increased by 10.1 percent; those of $100,000 to $250,000 by 5.9 percent; and those of 
$250,000 to $1 million by 7.0 percent. Again, increases in the smallest loans observed over the past several years 
have been, to a large extent, the result of the promotion of business credit cards by major banks and major finance 
companies. So that a more accurate picture of commercial bank small business lending activities can be seen, the 
research identified banks with significant small business credit card operations and separated small business credit 
card loans from overall small business lending (Table E). Preliminary results  indicate that the growth in the number 
and amount of non-credit-card loans under $100,000 declined to 2.3 percent in the amount and to less than 1 percent 
in the number of loans once the credit card factor was removed.  


Table E. Small Business Loans, Excluding Credit Card Operations, June 2000 to June 2001 (Dollars in Billions, Number in 
Millions)
 Loan Size		2000	2001	Percent Change
All Banks				
Total Assets 	Dollars	5,229.6	5,548.3	6.1
Loans under $100,000 	Dollars	121.4	126.8	4.4
 	Number	9.80	10.79	10.1
All Credit Card Banks				
Total Assets	Dollars	119.1	139.7	17.3
Loans under $100,000 	Dollars	7.9	10.7	34.5
 	Number	4.89	5.86	18.7
All Banks Minus Credit Card Banks				
Total Assets	Dollars	5,110.5	5,408.6	5.9
Loans under $100,000 	Dollars	113.5	116.1	2.3
 	Number	4.91	4.94	0.4
Source: Summary statistics from call reports for 2000 and 2001. See footnote 4 for methodology.


  
Bank consolidations continued to affect the relative importance of banks of different sizes in the small business 
loan market. The number of commercial banks filing call reports declined again, by 301 between June 2000 and June 
2001, mostly in the smallest banks with assets of less than $100 million (Table F).  Most of the disappearing small 
banks grew into the next size category, merged, or were acquired by larger banks. Most other bank categories increased 
or remained the same from 1995 to 2001.  As the banking industry is becoming more concentrated, it is important to 
examine the performance of large multi-billion-dollar BHCs in the small business loan markets. 

Small Business Lending by Multi-Billion-Dollar BHCs
By expanding interstate activities through mergers and acquisitions, most major BHCs have become national lenders in 
the small business loan marketsextending small business loans to most 

Table F. Number of Reporting Banks by Asset Size, 1995-2001
Bank Asset Size	1995	1996	1997	1998 	1999	2000	2001
<$100 Million	6,980	6,465	6,047	5,644	5,302	5,034	4,674
$100 Million-$500 Million	2,521	2,548	2,590	2,656	2,683	2,751	2,777
$500 Million-$1 Billion	256	260	292	303	290	302	320
$1Billion -$10 Billion	326	326	300	302	309	293	306
>$10 Billion	66	71	64	61	75	79	76
Total	10,149	9,670	9,293	8,966	8,659	8,459	8158
Source: Summary statistics compiled from call reports for various years.

parts of the United States. Of a total of $460 billion in small business loans outstanding from all banks in June 
2001, $206 billion was from 56 large BHCs.  As a group, these BHCs accounted for 44.5 percent of small business 
loans under $1 million and 70.3 percent of total domestic bank assets in the United States. These large BHCs increased 
their presence in the small business loan market slightly in 2000-2001, in spite of a slight decline in their share of 
total assets for the whole industry. Their share of the small business loan market increased from 44.0 percent to 44.5 
percent, while their asset share declined from 71.0 percent to 70.3 percent between June 2000 and June 2001 (Table G).  
Most of the growth came from the smallest loans, which increased from 36 percent to 38.9 percent of the dollars and 
from 35.6 percent to 38.6 percent of the number. The shares of loans between  $100,000 and $250,000 and between 
$250,000 and $1 million declined in proportion to declines in their asset shares (Table G). In sum, the slower demand 
for loans from large corporate borrowers, together with efforts by large BHCs to promote small business credit card 
operations allowed BHCs to maintain their share of the small business loan market during 2000-2001.


Table G. Bank Holding Companies Total Assets, Loans, and Small Business Lending, June 2000 and June 2001 (Dollars in 
Billions, Numbers in Millions)*
		2000	2001
		 
Number	Percent of All Banks	 
Number	Percent of All Banks
					
BHCs	Number	59 	-- 	56 	--
Loans <$100,000 	Dollars	43.7	36.0	49.4	38.9
	Number	3.5	35.6	4.2	38.6
Loans $100,000-$250,000 	Dollars	38.4	43.6	40.3	44.0
	Number	0.327	44.5	0.341	43.9
Loans $250,000-$1 Million 	Dollars	110.0	48.3	116.5	48.1
	Number	0.305	48.3	0.323	47.6
Under $1 Million 	Dollars	192.1	44.0	206.2	44.5
	Number	4.0	36.9	4.8	39.5
Over $1 Million 	Dollars	718.5	83.2	706.2	81.7
Total Business Loans 	Dollars	910.6	70.0	912.2	68.9
Total Assets 	Dollars	3,713	71.0	3,903	70.3
* These numbers are not strictly comparable to the numbers in last years study, as the totals and changes are 
for the currently existing 56 BHCs. With all the mergers and acquisitions, it is not always clear whether all the 
components of the BHCs have been correctly accounted for.
Source: Summary statistics compiled from call reports for various years. 

  
Findings from the 2000 CRA Reports
Small Business Lending from all CRA Reporting Banks
The slowdown in small business lending was also observed in the CRA data covering calendar year 2000. In 2000, $156 
billion in small business loans under $1 million were extended by CRA-reporting banks, compared with $144 billion in 
1999.This apparent increase in fact may reflect only increased coverage of banks filing CRA reports.  Under the 
Community Reinvestment Act, only large banks must file reports. With recent merger trends, banks are becoming larger, 
on average. The share of all bank assets (as reflected in the call reports) that are covered in the CRA reports 
increased by 0.6 percentage points, from 85.8 percent in 1999 to 86.4 percent in 2000 (Table H). The shares of 
medium-sized loans (those of $100,000-$250,000 and $250,000-$1 million) increased at the same or a slower rate (0.3 
to 0.6 percentage points). Only the share of the smallest loansthose under $100,000increased significantly more, 
by 3.5 percentage points. 



Table H. Business Loans Outstanding of all Call Report Banks and CRA-Covered Banks, June 2001 (Billions of Dollars)
Loan Sizes	Call Report Banks	CRA-Covered Banks	Ratio of CRA to Call Report Banks (Percent)
			2000	1999
				
Under $100,000 	126.8	81.8	64.5	61.0
$100,000-$250,000	91.6	66.9	73.0	72.4
Under $250,000 	218.4	148.7	68.1	65.8
$250,000-$ 1 Million 	242.	186.7	77.1	76.8
Under $1 Million 	460.4	335.4	72.8	71.5
Total Business Loans 	1,324.5	1,168.2	88.2	87.0
Total Assets 	5,548.3	4,793.6	86.4	85.8
Source: Summary statistics from call reports and CRA reports. Extensive matching of bank holding company data from 
both data bases was performed.

Small Business Lending from Multi-Billion-Dollar BHCs
In 2000, according to the CRA data, 56 large BHCs made 1.8 million small business loans (under $1 million) valued 
at $89.9 billion. Of these, 1.6 million were micro-business loans under $100,000 valued at a total of $27.7 billion.  
When BHCs small business credit card operations are excluded from the total, their participation in the smallest 
business loan market is more limited. 

 
Part 2: Top-Ranking Small Business Lenders 
To provide information that will help small businesses shop more efficiently for credit and help banks know about 
their competitors in small business lending, the performance of individual banks is ranked. Information for all 
reporting banks is on the Office of Advocacys website (http://www.sba.gov/advo/stats/lending). 

Table 1. Top-Ranked Multi-Billion-Dollar BHCs Using Call Report Data 
Table 1 ranks the small business friendliness of 56 BHCs with total assets in excess of $10 billion each.  Each 
bank is ranked from 1 to 56 on each of four variables, which then are totaled and re-ranked from 1 to 56. (The three 
credit-card banks are not ranked. )
The top five small-business-friendly lenders in 2001, based on call report data, are: Regions Financial (2nd in 2000), 
BB&T (1st in 2000), U.S. Bancorp (3rd in 1999), Union Planters (4th in 2000), and TB&C Bancshares of Georgia. One premier 
lender, Wells Fargo (5th in 1999), dropped to the 9th ranking, likely a casualty of the decline in lending activities in 
California. 

Table 2. Top-Ranked Multi-Billion-Dollar BHCs Using CRA Reporting Data
Table 2 ranks the BHCs small business friendliness using CRA data. Call report data were employed in combination with 
information from the CRA to perform Advocacys four-variable ranking. As in the previous studies, member bank data were 
first consolidated to generate estimates for the ultimate owning companies. Since CRA data provide location-specific 
information for a banks small business lending, information on the five states where the BHC has substantial lending 
operations is also provided. 
The five top small business lenders for 2000, using CRA data, are: Regions Financial Corp (1st also in 1999), BB&T 
(also 2nd in 1999), TB&C Bancshares of Georgia (9th in 1999), U.S. Bancorp (3rd in 1999), and Amsouth Bankcorp (10th 
in 1999). Again, a premier lender, Wells Fargo, dropped from 5th in 1999 to 8th in 2000, reflecting a drop in the banks 
two ratio measures in 2000-2001.

Table 3. Small-Business-Friendly Banks in the State Using Call Report Data
Small business lending/borrowing is primarily local in naturewhere both the borrowers and the lending office reside 
in the same community or communities nearby. To facilitate bringing the lenders and small business borrowers together, 
a directory of small business lending has been prepared by the Office of the Advocacy since 1995, when data on small 
business lending first became available.  
Table 3 provides a list of small-business-friendly banks in the states. The list includes the top 10 banks in a state 
or the top 10 percent, whichever number is smaller. (Ties may increase the number.) The small business lending performance 
of a bank in a given state is measured on four criteria. The four rankings were summed to create a score for the small 
business lending activities of individual banks. A banks score in a category is its decile ranking multiplied by 2.5. 
The total rank summarizes the four individual scores. (See Appendix for a detailed discussion of the ranking methodology.)
Note again that because the call report data are keyed to the bank headquarters location rather than the location of the 
lending activity, a significant amount of lending activity by large banks will not appear in the states where the 
activity occurs. 

Table 4. Top Small Business Lenders in the State Using CRA Report Data
State lending information for large banks and BHCs is best captured in the CRA database. Table 4 provides a 
list of top small business lenders in a given state using CRA data. The list includes banks and BHCs with small 
business lending in a given state in excess of $50 million in 2000. Data for members of a BHC were consolidated 
first to generate estimates for the ultimate owning companies. Consolidated estimates are then derived for each BHC 
in each state. Rankings are based solely on the dollar amount of small business lending in this table because of the 
difficulty of generating two ratio variables for some banks and BHCs. Clearly, large banks and BHCs have an important 
role in the small business loan markets in many states.

Table 5. Number of Reporting Banks by Bank Asset Size and by State, 1997-2001. 
Table 5 summarizes the number of banks in each state for each year from 1997 to 2001 and includes a listing by 
bank asset size for 2001. The asset sizes are under $1 million, $100 million to $500 million, $500 million to $1 
billion, $1 billion to $10 billion, and over $10 billion.

Appendix: Ranking Methodology and Table Descriptions
When possible, four variables were used to create a total score for the small business lending activities of individual 
banks: (1) the ratio of small business loans to total assets, (2) the ratio of small business loans to total business 
loans, (3) the dollar value of small business loans, and (4) the number of small business loans. The total ranking 
summarizes the four individual scores. Small banks tend to score higher in some categories than larger banks, and 
vice versa. For example, smaller banks have a higher percentage of total assets in small business loans, but larger 
banks lead in the sheer number and value of small loans. Using two ratio variables and two value variables allows a 
more balanced measure of lending performance by banks of different sizes.
For large BHCs in the call reports (Table 1), simple rankings from 1 to 56 were performed for each of the four variables 
first. The four individual rankings were summed and re-ranked from 1 to 56 again for the total rank. For BHCs using CRA 
data, (Table 2), ratio information were retrieved from call report data and used in combination with information from the 
CRA to perform Advocacys four-variable scheme for ranking. Again, simple rankings were performed and summed to obtain 
total rankings.
For lending by all banks in the states in the call reports (Table 3), a decile ranking is used instead of a simple 
ranking. The decile ranking is a measure of where the individual bank falls in the distribution of all banks within 
a state for any given variable. Decile rankings range from 1 to 10. Banks in the top 10 percent of all banks in the 
state receive the maximum score of 10; banks in the lowest 10 percent receive a score of 1. Banks that do not lend 
to small businesses (loans under $1 million) receive a 0. To make the total score of 100 rather than 40, each score 
was multiplied by 2.5. Thus, a banks final score in any category is its decile ranking score times 2.5. A banks 
total score is the sum of the scores in all four categories. 
For state lending using the CRA data (Table 4), banks were listed in order of the dollar amount of small business 
loans made in each state in 2000. Large institutions are, therefore, listed at the top. 

Table Descriptions
Table 1: Top-Ranked Lending of Large BHCs Using Call Report Data, June 2001
This table uses call report data to rank the small business friendliness of the large BHCs on the basis of four 
criteria that measure the small business lending emphasis in a banks loan portfolio. Small business loans (SBLs) 
are defined as loans under $1 million.
1.	Overall Ranking (Total Rank). Summary small business friendliness rankings of BHCs with respect to loans 
under $1 million. A simple ranking of 1 through 55 is derived from the data found in columns 2 through 5 (summed and 
divided by four).  The rankings for the four individual criteria are shown on the website.
2.	Ratio of Small Business Loans to Total Assets (SBL/TA). The ratio of the dollar value of small business loans 
under $1 million to total bank assets for each bank holding company. For the 56 large BHCs, the ratios of small 
business loans to total assets ranged from near 0 percent to 22 percent. 
3.	Ratio of Small Business Loans to Total Business Loans (SBL/TBL). For the 56 large BHCs, the ratios of the 
value of small business lending to total business lending ranged from near 0 percent to 70 percent.
4.	Total Dollar Amount of Small Business Lending by the BHC (SBL$). The total dollar amount (in millions) of 
small business loans of less than $1 million.
5.	Total Number of Small Business Loans (SBL#). The number of small business loans of less than $1 million.
6.	BHC Asset Size Class (Bk. Size). Asset size class of the BHC:
	$10 billion to under $50 billion ($10B$50B)
	$50 billion and over (>$50B)
7.	Total Dollar Amount of Micro-Business Loans (SSBL$). Similar to column 4, but for loans of less than $100,000, 
in thousands of dollars.
8.	Total Number of Micro-Business Loans (SSBL#). Similar to column 5, but for loans of less than $100,000.
9.	Growth in Total Assets (TA%G). Percentage growth of the BHCs total assets from June 1999 to June 2000. 
10.	Credit Card Loans to Total Assets (CRD/TA). The ratio of the dollar value of credit card loans to total 
assets. When this measure exceeds 0.50 (50 percent), the bank is defined as a credit card bank. Credit card loans 
may be the credit card accounts of individual employees, including owners, of small or large firms. As the call 
report information does not distinguish among these types of loans, the summary total statistic in column 1 may be 
biased, making some banks appear more small-business-friendly than they are.
Table 2. Top-Ranked Multi-Billion-Dollar BHCs Using CRA Data, 2000
Table 2 uses both CRA and call report data to rank-order the 56 largest BHCs on the basis of four criteria that 
measure the small business lending performance for a BHC. Two ratio variables were derived from the call reports. 
This table is formatted slightly differently from Table 1. The four individual scores are shown in the tables on 
the website.
1.	Total Rank. Summary small business performance rankings of BHCs with respect to loans under $1 million. 
A simple ranking of 1 through 55 is derived from the sum of the four scores provided on the website.  The four criteria 
used are the ratio of small business loans to total assets (SBL/TA); the ratio of small business loans to total business 
loans (SBL/TBL);  the total dollar value of small business lending by the BHC (SBL$); and the total number of small 
business loans (SBL#).
2.	Total Dollar Amount of Small Business Lending by the BHC (SBL$). The total dollar amount (in millions) of small 
business loans of less than $1 million.
3.	Total Number of Small Business Loans (SBL#). The number of small business loans of less than $1 million.
4.	BHC Asset Size Class (Bk. Size). Asset size class of the BHC:
	$10 billion to under $50 billion ($10B$50B)
	$50 billion and over (>$50B)
5.	States w/Loans (#States). The number of states where the BHC extended small business loans
6.	States w/Largest Loan Volume. Listing of five states with largest volume of loans made by the BHC.
7.	Total Dollar Amount of Micro-Business Loans under $100K by the BHC (SSBL$).  Similar to column 2, but for loans 
of less than $100,000, in millions of dollars.
8.	Total Number of Micro-Business Loans under $100K by the BHC (SSBL#). Similar to column 3, but for loans of 
less than $100,000.
9.	Total Dollar Amount of Mid-Sized Small Business Loans under $250K by the BHC (MSBL$). Similar to column 2, 
but for loans of less than $250,000, in millions of dollars. 
10.	Total Number of Mid-Sized Small Business Loans under $250K by the BHC (MSBL#). Similar to column 3, but for 
loans of less than $250,000.

Table 3. Small-Business-Friendly Banks in the State Using Call Report Data, June 2001
This table lists in descending order the top-scoring small-business-friendly banks in the state (The expanded version 
is available on Advocacys website, which lists all the banks using call report data in each state as Table 3.A).
1.	Total Rank: The total found in the first column is the score of the commercial bank in the state in which it 
is listed. The number is the aggregate measure of small business lending activity based on the sum of the four 
individual scores provided on the website. 
2.	The Ratio of Small Business Loans to Total Assets (SBL/TA): This column shows the ratio of small business 
loans (<$1 million) to total assets for each bank. A high ratio indicates a banks willingness to place a large portion 
of its assets in small business lending. 
3.	The Ratio of the Dollar Amount of Small Business Loans to Total Business Loans (SBL/TBL): The ratio of small 
business loans (<$1 million) to total business loans for each bank. Banks that make business loans predominately to 
small firms will rank high in this category.
4.	Total Dollar Amount of Small Business Loans (SBL$): The dollar value (in thousands) of small business loans 
(<$1 million) outstanding as of June 30, 2001, from the bank. Larger banks will score well in this column and in 
column 5 because their size allows them to make many small loans, even if their commitment to small business lending, 
as shown by the ratios in columns 2 and 3, is low.
5.	Total Number of Small Business Loans (SBL#): The total number of small business loans (<$1 million) outstanding 
for each bank.
6.	Bank Asset Size (Bnk Asset Sz.): The asset size class of the reporting bank:
	Under $100 million (<$100M)
	$100 million to under $500 million ($100M$500M)
	$500 million to under $1 billion ($500M$1B)
	$1 billion to under $10 billion ($1B$10B)
	$10 billion and over (>$10B)
7.	Total Score of Micro-Business Loans (Total Rank): The total score of the banks based on their micro-business 
lending. Total score is the sum of its four scores with respect to micro-business loans of less than $100,000. A firm 
looking for a loan of less than $100,000 might do well to seek out a bank that ranks high in this column.
8.	Dollar Amount of Small Business Loans (SSBL$): The dollar value (in thousands) of micro-business loans of 
less than $100,000. 
9.	Number of Small Business Loans (SSBL#): The number of small business loans of less than $100,000 made by 
the bank.
10.	Credit Card Loans to Total Assets (Cd/TA). The ratio of the dollar value of credit card loans to total 
assets. When this measure exceeds 0.50, the bank is defined as a credit card bank. Credit card loans may be the 
credit card accounts of individual employees, including owners, of small or large firms. As the call report 
information does not distinguish among these types of loans, the summary total statistic in column 1 may be biased, 
making some banks appear more small-business-friendly than they are.
Table 4. Top Small Business Lenders in the State Using CRA Data, 2000
Table 4 is formatted differently from Table 3 which displays call report data. The table lists the bank namethe 
name of the ultimate owning bank or bank holding companyas well as the home state of the bank. It provides the 
dollar amount and number of small business loans under $1 million, mid-sized small business loans under $250,000, 
and micro-business loans under $100,000. Only banks with small business loan totals in excess of $50 million in 
a given state in 2000 are listed.
1.	Amount of Small Business Loans (SBL$): The dollar amount, in thousands, of loans under $1 million made 
in 2000.
2.	Number of Small Business Loans (SBL#): The number of loans of less than $1 million made.
3.	Bank Asset Size (Bk Size): The total assets of the owning bank by size category:
	$1 billion to under $10 billion ($1B-$10B) 
	$10 billion to $50 billion ($10B-$50B)
	$50 billion and over (>$50B)
4.	Dollar Amount of Mid-Sized Small Business Loans (MSBL$): The dollar amount, in thousands, of mid-sized 
business loans of less than $250,000.
5.	Number of Mid-Sized Loans (MSBL#): The number of mid-sized business loans.
6.	Dollar Amount of Micro-Business Loans (SSBL$): The dollar amount, in thousands, of loans of less than $100,000.
7.	Number of Micro-Business Loans (SSBL#): The number of loans of less than $100,000. 
8.	Credit Card Banks (Crd Cd/TA). The ratio of credit card loans to total assets. Where this percentage is 
greater than .25, the data are reported and the bank is not ranked. These loans may reflect credit card activity 
of individual employees of large firms or the credit card activity of small firms. Because the CRA report does not 
distinguish among these types of loans, the summary total statistic in column 1 may be biased, making some banks 
appear more small-business-friendly than they are. However, since some of these credit card banks are making loans 
to small businesses with credit cards, they may be a ready source of small business credit.