If you cannot secure a loan, first review your credit report for errors and dispute inaccuracies through the Fair Credit Reporting Bureau (FCRB). Next, assess your debt-to-income (DTI) ratio; lenders typically require a DTI below 36% to approve loans. If your DTI is too high, prioritize paying down existing debt or increasing your income. If traditional loans are denied, explore alternatives like personal loans from online platforms, peer-to-peer (P2P) lending, or government-backed programs such as Small Business Administration (SBA) loans. Consider a cosigner with strong credit to boost your application or seek microloans from community development organizations.

The primary reasons for loan denials include poor credit scores, high DTI ratios, and insufficient income. A 2023 Federal Reserve report found that 43% of U.S. adults with credit scores below 600 were denied credit, compared to 8% of those with scores above 800. Similarly, lenders reject 58% of applications with DTI ratios exceeding 40%, per the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Alternative financing options, such as personal loans, have become more accessible: online lenders approved 72% of applications in 2023, up from 65% in 2020, according to LendingTree data. SBA loans, which offer up to $5 million with fixed 6.5% APR, helped 1.2 million small businesses in 2022, per SBA reports. Cosigners improve approval chances by 70%, as noted by Experian, while microloans from nonprofits like Accion America provided $1.3 billion to underserved borrowers in 2023. Proactive steps to address credit health and explore non-traditional lenders significantly improve access to capital.