Small, start-up businesses always have had difficulty accessing commercial credit. Due to the recent economic and financial crises, traditional business credit has become even harder to obtain. Mainstream banks have all but stopped lending in amounts under $250,000. Microlenders provide capital to borrowers that may have higher risk and in amounts under $50,000. Often community-based microlenders are more interested in a business’ success than simply collecting interest. Thus, they are more amenable to restructuring a loan if necessary. Microlenders look at an entire application and consider other factors than credit history. Community-based lenders and traditional banks both: - expect regular monthly payments of interest and principle; - expect the funds to be used for the purposes stated in the loan application; - require collateral and collect it when a loan goes into default; and - report repayment history to credit agencies.