For the first time since it was created in 2011, the Biz2CreditSmall Business Lending Index showed big banks, small banks, creditunions and alternative lenders experienced lower approval rates inNovember.

The New York-based Biz2Credit, which pairs small business owners with financialinstitutions, said it culled data from its monthly analysis of1,000 loan applications.

Credit union approvals of small business loans dropped for asixth consecutive month at Biz2Credit, down to 48.4% from 49.2% inOctober, the firm said.

While small business lending approvals at credit unions were onthe rise during the first five months of 2012, their approval rateshave dropped in each of the past six months.

After granting more than 50% of small business loan requests in October, small banks, which aredefined as having less than $10 billion in assets, experienced adip in approval rates from 50.1% in October to 49.2% in November,the company said.

However, when making a year-to-year comparison, Biz2Credit saidsmall banks approved a higher percentage of loan requests inNovember 2012 than in November 2011, when the rate was 47%.

Alternative lenders such as accounts receivable financers,merchant cash advance lenders, community development financialinstitutions and micro lenders also slowed slightly, according toBiz2Credit.

In November 2012, alternative lending approval rates dropped to64.5%, down from 64.7% the previous month, the data showed. Thefigure represents the first drop in alternative lending approvalsin more than four months.

Much of the recent drop in loan approval rates at all financialinstitutions may be linked to Hurricane Sandy and the looming fiscal cliff.

“Hurricane Sandy left much of the northeast devastated andforced small business owners to put future expansion plans onhold,” said Rohit Arora, Biz2Credit co-founder and CEO. “Shifted prioritieshave contributed to this decrease in loan approvals.

The specter of the fiscal cliff has caused some uncertainty inthe credit markets, which in turn has led to more scrutinized loanapprovals, Arora noted.

“Lenders may be less inclined to approve requested loans due tothe looming tax increases and spending cuts scheduled to start in2013, which is cause for concern in the economy overall,” hesaid.