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2019 Report on Minority-Owned Firms: Based on the 2018 Small Business Credit Survey

December 13, 2019
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Many minority-owned small businesses faced financial challenges and lagged in key performance indicators for profitability, revenue growth, and employee growth.

Small businesses are crucial to the nation’s economy. They employ almost half of U.S. workers, and are important sources of employment and wealth building, particularly for minority communities. The number of minority-owned businesses has grown rapidly in recent years, which means that their well-being and ability to access financing is increasingly important to fostering economic opportunity and broader economic growth.

This report examines the state of minority-owned businesses, offering insights on their performance, access to financing, and experiences in the credit market.

Some key findings include:

  • For many minority-owned businesses, key performance indicators like profitability and revenue growth lagged White-owned firms.
  • Minority-owned firms relied to a greater extent on personal funds, and on personal credit scores when applying for financing, than did White-owned firms.
  • Minority-owned firms’ loan applications tended to have worse outcomes (not controlling for other firm characteristics) than did the applications of White-owned-firms, particularly at small banks or online lenders.
  • Dissatisfaction with a lender is relatively high among Black- and Hispanic-owned firms.
Suggested Citation

“2019 Report on Minority-Owned Firms: Based on the 2018 Small Business Credit Survey.” 2019. Small Business Credit Survey. Federal Reserve Banks. https://doi.org/10.55350/sbcs-20191213

The views expressed here are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Federal Reserve Banks. Data used in this report may be subject to updates or changes.