Cardiff 2025 State of Small Business Lending REPORT

Banks keep telling America everything is “back to normal”… but the data says the opposite. After analyzing 100,000+ small business loan applications, William Stern exposes the Capital Paradox—a 2025 reality where demand for growth capital is at an all-time high, yet bank approval rates have crashed below 15%. Prime borrowers are being rejected, Basel III is suffocating lending, and Main Street is being forced into a new financial era where speed isn’t a luxury — it’s survival. In this video, William breaks down why traditional banking is structurally finished, where the smartest CFOs are pivoting, why delay is more expensive than interest, and how companies are using real-time underwriting to unlock opportunities that banks can’t move fast enough to fund.

📘 WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

🚨 Why bank approval rates have collapsed below 15%
📉 How Basel III regulations cripple small business lending
🔍 What the Capital Paradox is and why it matters in 2025
💳 Why “prime borrowers” are getting rejected at record levels
⚡ The new rule of growth: Speed = Low Interest
🧮 How delay costs more than a higher rate — the math CFOs use
🚀 Why tech-enabled lenders are outperforming banks
📊 How Cardiff underwrites using real-time cash flow instead of outdated tax returns
💼 What the smartest entrepreneurs are doing to fund expansion in 2025
📈 How to interpret the State of the Industry 2025 data for your business

About Cardiff
Cardiff empowers America’s small businesses with fast, flexible, and transparent financing solutions designed to fuel growth. Since 2004, Cardiff has provided over $12 billion in capital to entrepreneurs nationwide, helping them bridge cashflow gaps, invest in expansion, and keep their businesses moving forward. From working capital and revenue-based financing to equipment loans, business lines of credit, and credit cards, Cardiff delivers funding that adapts to the real needs of business owners.

Explore your financing options or get matched with a solution in minutes at https://cardiff.co.

Check the Article here: https://cardiff.co/learn/reports/mark...

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🔑 KEYWORDS
small business lending, William Stern, Cardiff, capital paradox, 2025 lending report, Basel III, fintech lending, bank rejection, new prime borrower, small business financing, liquidity crisis, growth capital, underwriting