PayNet announced enhancements to the Small Business Lending Index (SBLI), which is an economic indicator of GDP. In addition to the national Thomson Reuters/PayNet Small Business Lending Index, the SBLI have been expanded to provide 988 total individual indices available by 18 different industries and all 50 states.

Because small businesses tend to be more responsive to changes in financial and economic conditions than larger businesses, the SBLI serves as reliable leading indicators of macroeconomic and industry trends. A gauge of small business lending activity provides early signals of future economic growth, demand for capital and business fixed investment across multiple sectors of the economy.

The expanded Small Business Lending Index (SBLI) is based on new commercial loan and lease originations by major U.S. lenders in PayNet’s proprietary database. These indices measure the volume of loans to small businesses.

”The expansion of the Small Business Lending Index into state and industry marks a major advance in the knowledge of the small business market,” says William Phelan, president and co-founder of PayNet. ”These 988 separate indices tell us where investment and growth is occurring in the private company economy, which makes up about 50% of U.S. GDP.”