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# Goldman Sachs: 70% of SMBs Applying for Loans Say It’s Difficult to Access Capital
- URL: https://datacatalyst.org/goldman-sachs-70-of-smbs-applying-for-loans-say-its-difficult-to-access-capital/
- Published: 2023-09-20T13:53:07.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-23T18:31:55.000Z
- Description: Goldman Sachs reports that small business owners nationwide still struggle to gain the capital they need to operate and expand their businesses in a post-COVID market. In an environment of higher interest rates and tighter lending standards, SMBs applying for new loans find it difficult to access ca
- Author: Lilly Gillespie
- Tags: Insights, Research Archive, AI, Artificial Intelligence, capital, COVID, digital tools, federal reserve, selling, small business

From a newly released survey of 1,556 small businesses in their *10,000 Small Business Voices* [program](https://www.goldmansachs.com/citizenship/10000-small-businesses/US/voices/?ref=datacatalyst.org), Goldman Sachs [reports](https://www.goldmansachs.com/citizenship/10000-small-businesses/US/voices/news/september-12-2023-press-release.html?ref=datacatalyst.org) that small business owners nationwide still struggle to gain the capital they need to operate and expand their businesses in a post-COVID market. In an environment of higher interest rates and tighter lending standards, it is unsurprising that 70% of SMBs applying for new loans in 2023 found it difficult to access capital. This marks a nine-point jump in just the last five months since Goldman’s April 2023 [survey](https://www.goldmansachs.com/citizenship/10000-small-businesses/US/voices/news/may-04-2023-press-release.html?ref=datacatalyst.org). 

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/bf/34/bf345cfd-b532-49fb-8f83-d9d077806cbd/content/images/2026/09/Increase-in-SMB-loan-applicants-difficult-to-access-capital.jpg)

In response to recent bank failures (e.g., [Silicon Valley Bank](https://www.investopedia.com/what-happened-to-silicon-valley-bank-7368676?ref=datacatalyst.org) this past March), the Federal Reserve [seeks to require](https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/pressreleases/bcreg20230727a.htm) large banks to hold more capital. As a result, 84% of SMBs believe that “will negatively impact their ability to access capital in an already difficult market.” For 76% of SMBs applying for loans, difficulty accessing affordable capital “has negatively impacted their business.” Additionally, 68% of SMBs have outstanding loans and lines of credit. Of those, 68% say they “would not be able to maintain current operations or grow their business without their business loan or line of credit.”

In the past four years, [COVID shutdowns](https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/on-your-side-small-business-recovery/?ref=datacatalyst.org), [rising crime](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/28/nyregion/new-york-stores-robberies-theft.html?ref=datacatalyst.org), and inflation have all harmed small businesses. Now, increased barriers to accessing working capital - the lifeblood of small businesses - threaten to exacerbate the situation. Even as small business owners repeatedly prove their resilience by employing new [digital tools](https://datacatalyst.org/content/files/2026/09/digitally-driven-2020.pdf), expanding [selling methods](https://datacatalyst.org/content/files/2026/09/super-selling-most-small-businesses-still-use-multiple-sales-methods-in-a-post-covid-world.html), and learning to harness [artificial intelligence](https://datacatalyst.org/small-business-can-harness-the-power-of-artificial-intelligence-to-compete-with-larger-corporations-part-ii/), reduced access to capital could undermine their ability to compete and succeed.

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*Lilly Gillespie is a Senior Research Analyst at the Data Catalyst Institute.*