Findings from a National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) survey offer insight into small business views on the present economy and banking.
The survey was executed through mail from April 14-18, 2023, yielding 669 responses. It was conducted with a random sample of 18,000 NFIB members from the organization’s database of 300,000 small business owners.
“Small business banking is a critical component of every small business,” NFIB Research Center Executive Director Holly Wade said. “Small business owners rely on their banks to help manage cash flow, expand their business, and receive financial advice. The recent bank failures put into focus the importance of a strong, stable small business banking system to the small business economy.”
The analysis addressed bank size, functions and services, borrowing needs, concerns about the bank’s health, business loans, sources of financing, and current financial state.
According to the survey results, 67 percent of small business owners use a small or regional bank, while 17 percent use a medium size bank, and 14 percent of small business owners use a large bank.
Of all the functions that banks provide, according to survey respondents, customer service was reported as the most important, with 87 percent of small business owners maintaining it was very important to them when choosing a bank for business purposes, while 62 percent reported that low banking fees are very important in choosing the bank they currently use for business purposes.
The survey results showed 74 percent of small businesses have not borrowed money for business purposes in the last three months, 19 percent borrowed money for business purposes from a bank or credit union, 3 percent from a finance company or online lender, and another 3 percent from a different type of lender.