The proportion of credit flowing to rural areas also declined from 18% to 8%, while the proportion of deposits being sourced from rural areas declined from 15.1% to 9.4% during this period. Both the above metrics highlight the declining focus of banks on rural business and greater emphasis on business in metro areas.
While the households that disproportionately increased their wealth are more likely to start businesses, those that disproportionately lost wealth are less likely to do so. In particular, the recent housing downturn has made it more difficult to use cash-out refinancing or home equity lending as a funding vehicle for small business formation.