Community Reinvestment Act data released Thursday supplied more evidence that the credit crisis led to a drop-off in lending.
Regulators release findings annually on small loans to businesses and farms, as well as community development loans, compiled from data reported by institutions with more than $1 billion of assets.
The latest report, including data from 941 lenders, said small business loans originated or purchased in 2009 declined 42% from the previous year, to 6.2 million, and the dollar amount of these loans fell 30%, to $206 billion. Meanwhile, small loans to farms originated or purchased last year fell 29%, to 150,000. The dollar amount of these loans fell 18%, to $11.7 billion. The total dollar amount of community development loans originated or purchased declined 52%, to $34.7 billion, but the regulators said this was mainly due to the high number purchased in 2008. The total of community development originations alone fell 29%, to just over 15,800.
