In the Ratio of Deposits to Small Biz Loans, Big Banks Not Doing Their Share, NY Times Reports

BankingGrades.com grades banks' activity in small business lending by reviewing the ratio of their small business loan balances to their domestic deposits; the more they lend, the higher they grade. The New York Times' Ami Kassar believes that this is the fairest indicator of who is lending to small businesses in the market, but not everyone agrees. Big banks reportedly are critical of the formula, arguing that it is biased against banks that could never get a good grade because of the sheer size of their deposits. Kassar disagrees, saying the formula is simple and straightforward: The top fifty banks control 67.16% of domestic deposits and make 36.9% of all small business loans. The other 7,215 banks in the country control 32.84% of all domestic deposits and make 63.10% of all small business loans. "Anyway you cut it," Kassar says, "From my perspective, the big banks are not doing their share."

Read More at The New York Times:

http://boss.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/06/27/which-banks-really-want-to-lend-to-small-businesses/