Report to Congress: Availability of Credit to Small Businesses

The Economic Growth and Regulatory Paperwork Reduction Act of 1996 requires that, every five years, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System submit a report to the Congress detailing the extent of small business lending by all creditors. The reports discuss recent patterns in the flows and terms of business credit, credit use by small firms, and the sources of credit provided to small businesses, with an emphasis on the lending activities of commercial banks.