Large companies are tapping the attractive loan markets to finance new projects, but middle-market co’s not so lucky.
Large companies are taking advantage of attractive conditions in the syndicated loan markets to fund dividends, buybacks and capital investments. Middle market companies were likewise beating a path to their banks’ doors – that is, until last month. According to loan data company PayNet, overall financing for US small businesses grew only a tenth of a percent in February.
The Thomson Reuters/PayNet Small Business Lending Index, released on Tuesday, rose to 98.3 in February from 98.2 a month earlier. The company revised its index results for December and January downward at the same time.
That doesn’t indicate that companies are having a harder time paying back their loans. In fact PayNet says small corporate delinquency rates are at post-crisis lows.
However, the trend reversal was swift. The index rose sharply in January, registering an 18 percent year-over-year growth in borrowings. February, by contrast, only saw a 14 percent year-over-year increase in the index.
These companies remain in far better shape than during the financial crisis, when bank loan facilities were impossible to find and small-business lender CIT Group’s bankruptcy sent shock waves through the sector. Nonetheless, the apparent move by smaller companies to put the brakes on capital project financing and other investments could signal a lull in economic growth – and a potential weakness in large corporations’ supply chains.