By Stacy M. Brown Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent

The doors of opportunity remain locked for too many. A new LendingTree analysis reveals that Black-owned businesses faced the highest rejection rate for financing in 2024, with 39% denied loans, lines of credit, or merchant cash advances. Hispanic-owned businesses followed at 29%. By contrast, just 18% of white-owned businesses were turned away.

The figures draw a map of inequality, where capital flows freely to some and is dammed up for others. The report shows that one in five businesses overall—21%—were denied financing last year, a number nearly unchanged from 2023. But beneath that flat surface lies a story of disparity: while white-owned companies hit roadblocks less often, Black and Hispanic entrepreneurs carried the

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