Experian, the leading global information services company, today announced that following a tough first three months of the year, small-business credit conditions rebounded in the second quarter of 2014 to reach their highest level on record. According to the most recent Experian/Moody's Analytics Small Business Credit Index, the improvement was driven by an expansion in outstanding credit balances as well as a decline in overall delinquency rates. These and other business credit and macroeconomic trends impacting small-business health will be presented in Experian's Quarterly Business Credit ReviewWebinar on Sept. 4, 2014, at 1 p.m. Eastern time.

"Small businesses are doing as well as they have since before the Great Recession," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics. "Credit to small businesses is flowing more freely, and they are paying their bills more quickly. Prospects are good across most industries and much of the country."

Findings from the report also showed that small businesses have fared better in Q2 2014. During the second three months of the year, the average commercial risk score* was 61.4, up 5.8 percent from the previous year. Additionally, small-business bankruptcies improved by nearly 12 percent, while small businesses also reduced the number of days they paid their bills beyond contracted terms by 4.5 percent from Q2 2013.

"Unlike their larger counterparts, many small businesses rely on consumer spending to help with day-to-day expenses as well as to pay down outstanding debt," said Joel Pruis, Experian's senior business consultant. "Now that the harsh winter months are behind us and shopping has picked back up again, we are beginning to see the immediate impact consumer spending has on small businesses being able to pay their bills. If the positive trends we have observed in Q2 continue, it can lead to a wider availability of credit and more growth opportunities."