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The
Thomson Reuters/PayNet Small Business Lending Index rose to
138.9 in June, from May's upwardly revised 131.1. It was down 5
percent from a year earlier, as borrowing by companies in all
major industry groups sagged.
The PayNet index typically corresponds to U.S. gross domestic
product growth one or two quarters ahead. The U.S. economy grew
just 1.2 percent last quarter, a government report showed last
week, after registering a meager 0.8 percent in the first
quarter.
Small business borrowing is a key barometer of growth because
small companies tend to do much of the hiring that drives
economic gains. The figures released Thursday suggest "no big
contribution to GDP from private companies," said Bill Phelan,
PayNet's president.
Meanwhile, companies appeared to be having more difficulty
paying back existing loans. Loans more than 30 days past due
rose in June to 1.56 percent, the highest since October 2014,
separate data from PayNet showed.
PayNet collects real-time loan information such as originations
and delinquencies from more than 325 leading U.S. lenders.
(Reporting by Ann Saphir; Editing by Andrew Hay and David
Gregorio)
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