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The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco

Community Investments

Volume 9; No. 4; Fall 1997

1996 CRA Data Now Available

Summarized by Shawn Elliott Marshall, Associate Editor, Community Investments

The FFIEC has announced the inaugural release of the new CRA data which includes 1996 information about small business and farm loans, community development loans and institution assessment areas. All 2,078 CRA reporting institutions should have received the 1996 data in early October. For other organizations, the data may be obtained for $10 in two format options — a CD-ROM software package or an individual institution or aggregate report on paper.

The CD-ROM software package includes data for all reporting institutions from around the country. It also includes an easy-to-use search capability which enables users to retrieve reports in a timely and efficient manner. The paper-based report includes an institution's disclosure or an aggregate report for either an individual MSA or all non-MSA counties in a particular state.

Several key findings of the data are delineated in a September 30, 1997 press release issued by the FFIEC. Highlights of those findings include:

In 1996, 2.4 million small business loans, totaling $147 billion, and 216,629 small farm loans, totalling $10.4 billion were reported by 2,078 lending institutions. Reported loans include both originations and purchases of loans during the year.¹

Among all reported small business loans, the average loan size was about $61,000. Eighty-seven percent were for amounts under $100,000. The maximum loan reported was $1 million.

Among all reported small farm loans, the average loan size was about $48,000. Eighty-eight percent of small farm loans were for amounts under $100,000. The maximum loan reported was $500,000.

Small business lending varies by region of the country, a variance which closely follows the differences in the number of business establishments across regions.² For example, New England reported 5 percent of small business loans with 5.9 percent of all business establishments. The Pacific reported 14.7 percent of small business loans with 16.2 percent of all business establishments. The regional variation in small farm lending is more pronounced than in small business lending, though this regional variation closely tracks differences in the share of farms and share of farm sales by region.

Small business loans are heavily concentrated (about 80 percent) in central city and suburban areas. Most small farm loans (74 percent) are made in rural areas.

In 1996, 32,677 community development loans totaling $17.7 billion were reported. The average community development loan amount was $542,000, much larger than the average small business or small farm loan.

Fifty-seven percent of reporting commercial banks and 46 percent of reporting savings associations extended community development loans in 1996. Eighty-five percent of all community development loans were originated by commercial banks.

If you would like a copy of the press release which contains a CRA data fact sheet with corresponding tables as well as a 1996 data order form, please contact June Yambao in Community Affairs at (415) 974-2978. If you have specific questions about the `96 CRA data or would like to place a data order, please contact the FFIEC at (202) 872-7584. Data requests will be filled by the FFIEC within a few days of receipt of your order.

¹ Unlike mortgage lending, a well-developed secondary market for small business loans does not exist. As such, only about 2 percent of small business loans and less than 1 percent of small farm loans were reported as purchases from another institution.
² FFIEC analysis of small business and small farm data are categorized within the following nine U.S. regions: New England, Middle Atlantic, East North Central, West North Central, South Atlantic, East South Central, West South Central, Mountain and Pacific.