If a new company has not yet established a credit history, many lenders turn to the business owner’s personal credit to evaluate risk. But does personal credit alone paint an accurate picture of a new business’s risk? Is there a more optimal way to determine how creditworthy a young company may be?

To find answers, Experian® randomly selected the credit files of 2.5 million U.S. small-business owners and compared them with the records of 1 million consumers. We then looked at the credit history of both groups, as well as key demographic data such as age, education and income. We also reviewed the number of open trades, delinquencies, bankruptcies and business survival rates. The results of this research are explained in this whitepaper.

Turning the page from recovery to growth, small businesses continue to have access to a wider availability of credit, as credit conditions reached the highest level on record, improving for the third consecutive quarter. Outstanding credit balances grew by 2.2 percent from a year ago, while delinquency rates declined to a cyclical low of 8.5 percent, both of which contributed to the improvement in the index.

North American economic strength is riding on the backs of the resilient U.S. Consumer. For the past two years, the fear of an imminent recession rang in the ears of economists and consumers alike, radiating declining confidence in growth and the ability to prolong spending behaviors consumers grew accustomed to during pandemic recovery. Those fears have been pushed aside as consumers beat holiday spending expectations, upending retailers' anxiety entering the season.

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