Micro business loans under $100,000 were down 2.9% during the first quarter, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Total small business loans outstanding dropped 2.4% from $624.3 billion in December 2010 to $609.4 billion in March 2011, the SBA's Office of Economic Research of the Office of Advocacy reported in its Quarterly Lending Bulletin. Macro business loans, defined as those between $100,000 to $1 million, declined by 2.2%.

Small business loans outstanding by the largest lenders with assets of $50 billion or more declined the most, by 4.9%, the SBA reported. Loans outstanding from lenders in the $1 billion to $9 billion asset category remained constant. Lenders with $10 billion to $49 billion in assets had an increase of 3.1% in loans outstanding.

While the rate of decline appeared to slow in the last quarter of 2010, it has turned down slightly in the first quarter of 2011, according to the SBA.

“Remarkably, nominal small business loans outstanding as reported by the call reports have declined to levels below those reported in June 2006,” the report read.

The lending data collected is based on call reports from the FDIC.

Instant Insights /

SBA: Small Business Lending Continues to Drop

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