Online Lender Camino Financial Releases Survey Of U.S. Latinx Small Business Market Trends

LOS ANGELES, March 24, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Camino Financial, a data-driven fintech platform pioneering affordable small business loans to help U.S. Latinx businesses thrive, has issued the Camino Financial U.S. Latinx Small Business Survey - Q4 2019, the first in a regular series of reports summarizing the credit and financial status of the U.S. Latinx Small Business segment, a critical leading indicator of economic performance.

Camino Financial is sharing its proprietary data on this segment to provide a baseline and track the economic development of this key demographic.  This data serves to identify and anticipate the credit needs of U.S. Latinx small businesses in general, and now in the face of economic disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The initial report provides insights into macroeconomic trends derived from Camino Financial's 2019 business loan data based on tens of thousands of applications, the largest published data set of its kind focused on the U.S. Latinx business segment.

Download and subscribe to the Survey here.

"Camino Financial stands together with our community of small business owners during this time of great uncertainty.  Data is power," said Sean Salas, co-founder & CEO of Camino Financial.  "Camino Financial has leveraged its unique combination of deep data and advanced AI to produce insights into this essential market.  We will continue to build the largest pool of application and performance data on underbanked U.S. Latinx businesses.  We plan to use this data to innovate and meet the credit needs of the market."

Key insights from the Survey include:

• Credit - In Q4 2019, 35% of Latinx businesses applied for a loan with no reported Credit Score. The average Credit Score for Latinx applicants is 634.
   
• Velocity - Latinx entrepreneurs are rapidly launching new ventures: 56% of applicants had fewer than 2 years in operations in Q4 2019, compared to 48% in Q1 2019.
   
• Size - The average Latinx small business generated $213K in annual revenue with over 80% of Latinx businesses operating in Low to Moderate Income areas.

"Camino Financial has developed a proprietary alternative credit scoring system that enables cash-based, thin-file, or no credit borrowers to secure loans at reasonable terms," said Kenny Salas, co-founder, and COO of Camino Financial.  "Data from this survey shows 35% of U.S. Latinx businesses do not have a credit score. It's important that key stakeholders understand the profile of Latinx businesses and their trends over time, especially in light of a potential financial crisis."

The 2019 Survey will be followed by regularly-issued quarterly U.S. Latinx Small Business Surveys informed by Camino Financial's loan application data, giving an evolving snapshot of trends over time.  The report can be indicative of systemic macroeconomic trends within the larger U.S. Economy.

About Camino Financial
Camino Financial is a data-driven fintech platform pioneering affordable credit and financial products for U.S. Latinx businesses.  The company uses proprietary artificial intelligence software to aggregate data and build machine learning models to drastically reduce financing costs for thin-file, cash-based microenterprises.  The company is headquartered in Los Angeles and operates another office in Mexico City.  Camino Financial provides small business owners with free access to business resources on its blog.  Learn more at:  www.caminofinancial.com

SOURCE Camino Financial