Small business owners finally got some good news from the Federal Reserve Bank on Sept. 18, when Fed chairman Jerome Powell announced that the federal funds overnight rate will be lowered by one half of one percent (50 basis points) to 5%, marking the first time that the rate has been cut in more than three years. Small business owners have been suffering through rate hikes nearly every quarter over the past year-and-a-half as part of an effort to try to tame inflation.

This is expected to be the first of several rate cuts to come as inflation hikes have cooled over the past year. The good news for small business owners is that they can expect the cost of capital – as well as lending requirements, to begin to ease over the next several quarters. 

It’s Been Tough for Borrowers

Many small businesses depend on financing to operate. Lending products such as loans and business lines of credit help them grow, launch new products, purchase equipment and meet operating expenses throughout the year. Both SBA 7(a) loans and term loans charge a fixed interest rate based on the overnight rate, while other products such as business lines of credit charge a variable interest rate on the borrowed money.  

After the overnight began to rise in mid-2022, the average approval rates on small business loans from traditional banks dipped to below 20% according to Statista, but rose slightly for alternative lenders that often lend to borrowers that have been rejected by traditional banks. Lending requirements also began to tighten when interest rates rose, as traditional banks saw a higher-interest loan as riskier than a lower interest one.

How will Lower Rates Help Small Businesses?

When it comes to borrowing money, lower interest rates will help small businesses in two main ways. First, lower rates means a cheaper cost of capital on most lending products, such as SBA loans, bank loans, business lines of credit and equipment financing loans. Even financing products that charge factoring fees, such as invoice factoring, will get a little cheaper. 

Second, as the overnight rate continues to be cut, traditional banks and alternative lenders will begin to loosen their lending requirements, making it slightly easier for small business owners to obtain financing. Since mid-2022, when the Fed began hiking the overnight rate, traditional banks, alternative lenders and SBA lenders began demanding more stringent requirements such as slightly higher credit scores and longer profitability statements to justify taking the risk of approving high-interest loans.

If you use a variable-rate lending product such as a business line of credit, you can also expect to see the interest rate slightly decrease on the money that you’ve borrowed against it.

Is it Time to Borrow?

While a rate cut is generally considered positive for small businesses looking for financing, it’s important to remember that this rate cut is just the initial cut, so waiting for further cuts before applying for financing may be the prudent move.

While it’s impossible to predict how many times the Fed will cut rates, many economists are predicting that the aim is to lower them to the 2.25% to 2.50% target that we saw in 2022 to help the economy rebound from the inflation spike seen over the past three years. It is fair to assume, however, that the cost of capital for fixed-rate lending products, such term loans, especially those being offered by traditional banks, will continue to lower.

Small business owners who qualify for the most popular SBA-backed loan, the 7(a) loan, are hoping that the interest rate on the popular loan will eventually go back to the 5.5% to 6.5% range that they saw at the beginning of 2022. The rate on term loans from both traditional banks and alternative lenders are also based in part on the overnight rate, so expect the rates on those loans to decrease over time as well.

Refinancing Options

Small businesses that have outstanding SBA 7(a), term loans or equipment loans may look to replace their loan with a cheaper one or renegotiate the terms of the current loan as interest rates go down. This will especially be effective if your credit score has improved since taking out your loan.

The bottom line is that if you have an outstanding loan and you’re seeking to take advantage of falling interest rates, most lenders will be willing to renegotiate or refinance. You may, however, want to wait until rates drop even further.

Play the Waiting Game

While this initial interest rate cut is generally good news for small business owners, most economists agree that more will be on the way. You may want to hold off on the temptation to refinance your existing loan or take out a new one right away. Keep checking the news for further rate cuts and read economic forecasts on how many more cuts are on the way. Waiting for the lowest possible overnight rate before you take out a loan could save your small business a considerable amount of capital down the road.