The total number and value of small-business and small-farm loans made by financial institutions subject to the Community Reinvestment Act decreased in 2025 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 720 lenders reported data about originations and purchases of small loans — $1 million or less — to businesses and farms in 2025, compared with 732 institutions the previous year, 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 million small-business loans totaling more than $291 billion were reported in 2025. The total number of loans decreased by 1.6% from 2024, while the number of loans originated declined by 2%. The dollar amount of small-business loans originated increased by 4.7%.
As for small-farm loans, about 198,000 small-farm loans were reported for 2025, totaling about $15.6 billion, an increase of about 0.07% in the number of loans and 7.5% in the dollar amount of loans in 2025 from 2024.
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 — $1.609 billion in 2025 — extended the vast majority of reported community development loans, reporting a combined total of nearly $185 billion, a 35% increase from 2024.
