Survey Says: Business Owners Want Better Banks

Main Street businesses want better banking rules.

Image: iStockphoto

Small businesses want better credit regulation, more access to capital, and infrastructure spending to boost job creation, a survey released today shows.

The survey—by the Democratic-leaning American Sustainable Business Council, Main Street Alliance, and Small Business Majority—shows 90 percent of small-business owners want small banks and credit unions to be allowed to lend more, and 83 percent want tougher regulation of credit cards.

Sixty-one percent of those small-business owners say its tougher to get a loan now than it was four years ago.

“Loans that will help small businesses grow and create jobs are harder and harder to come by,” said John Arensmeyer, founder and CEO of Small Business Majority, in a release. “With banks’ lending portfolios shrinking and small businesses’ dependence on credit cards growing, lawmakers need to look for smart ways to revamp the credit landscape.”

Other interesting findings of the report include:

• 77 percent support creating incentives for community banks to lend more.
• 73 percent of small employers believe their business has been hurt to some degree by the drop in consumer demand resulting from the housing and mortgage crisis.
• 57 percent of respondents agree reducing the principal on underwater mortgages to the current market value would boost consumer spending, helping small businesses regain their vigor through increased profits.