The finding
In the Federal Reserve Banks' survey of 6,525 small employer firms, 42 percent of applicants received all the financing they sought. Another 22 percent received nothing.
The share of applicants going to online lenders rose from 17 percent in 2020 to 29 percent in 2025. Sixty percent of online lender borrowers said their costs came in higher than expected.
Source: 2026 Report on Employer Firms: Findings from the 2025 Small Business Credit Survey, Federal Reserve Banks, March 3, 2026.
What it means for you
More than half of applicants did not get everything they asked for, so a lot of application effort ends short on both sides. Better qualification at intake saves your team and the borrower time.
Borrowers are also comparing channels. They are willing to apply online, and many feel surprised by what it cost them. A lender or broker who responds fast and explains terms clearly has room to stand out.
Our take
We read this as a follow-up problem as much as a credit problem. The application is the easy part to get online. Scoring the fit early, chasing documents and telling a borrower where they stand is where most shops still run on email.
This is a convenience sample of employer firms, so treat the numbers as direction and not as your market. Your own pipeline data will tell you more. Start by measuring how long a first response takes.