Abstract
Consolidation in banking raise concerns about exclusion and predatory practices in small-business lending. Fintech lenders, largely unregulated credit providers with lending decisions and loan terms determined primarily by algorithm, have rapidly increased their lending to small businesses. I analyze loan-level data on consumer and small business loans from Fintech lenders and a comparison sample of small-business loans from regulated bank lenders. Fintech small-business loans charge average annual interest rates 3 percentage points higher than consumer loans from the same lender and 4 to 7 percentage points higher than small business loans from regulated banking entities. The large interest-rate premium points to the need for regulatory clarity and additional supervision to protect this crucial market segment from predatory non-bank lenders.
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