OnDeck study finds seasonal patterns in small business lending

Small business finance provider, OnDeck, has found cyclical patterns in the lending habits of the nation’s small businesses.

The lender’s data reveals definite peaks and troughs in small business online lending and confirmed strong cyclical funding patterns across the sector in Australia. Pre festive season saw the number of small businesses loan applications jump 145 per cent above the monthly average.

The trend was even more noticeable for service industries such as accommodation and food services, which showed a significant increase in applications of 190 per cent for the month of November when compared to average monthly demand in 2017.

The data also found some lending patterns in other small business sectors were more evenly distributed around the year.

Challenging the festive season and EOFY trend, retail trade and wholesale trade lending remained more constant throughout the year, despite the obvious spike in consumer demand for retail products around festive periods.

Michael Burke, Head of Sales at OnDeck Australia, said that brokers could draw two key takeouts from the data.

“First, the patterns are entrenched across all small businesses but there are also marked differences between industry sectors. For brokers, this means looking at their clients’ businesses and understanding the impact of seasonal lending patterns on each of those businesses,” he said.

“Second, is to build an understanding of the data and its implications with their clients and to work with them to ensure they take advantage of lending cycles in their specific industry and maximise growth opportunities for their business.”

According to the data, some borrowing patterns also extended to the day and time small businesses sought funding. Most small businesses were likely to apply for a loan in the middle of the week and during business hours.