The total number and value of small-business and small-farm loans made by financial institutions subject to the Community Reinvestment Act increased in 2024 compared to the previous year, the Federal Reserve, FDIC and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency said in their annual report on CRA lending data.
A total of 731 lenders reported data about originations and purchases of small loans — $1 million or less — to businesses and farms in 2024, according to the joint agency report. The agencies noted that CRA data provides a useful snapshot of lending to small businesses and small farms, but it is not meant to be comprehensive.
About 9.1 million small-business loans totaling nearly $276.6 billion were reported in 2024. The total number of loans increased by 8.1% from 2023, while the number of loans originated rose by 8.3%. The dollar amount of small-business loans originated rose by 6.1%.
As for small-farm loans, about 197,000 small-farm loans were reported for 2024, totaling about $14.5 billion, an increase of about 0.5% in the number of loans and 4% in the dollar amount of loans in 2024 from 2023.
The agencies also examined community development lending among the 731 institutions that reported activity in that area. Lenders with assets that met or exceeded the mandatory reporting threshold — $1.564 billion in 2024 — extended the vast majority of reported community development loans, reporting a combined total of over $138 billion, or a 9% increase from 2023, according to the report.
