AI Adoption & Trends
AI Is Making Some Business Loan Decisions Much Faster. What Should Small Businesses Prepare?
Deutsche Bank says AI has cut some smaller corporate loan decisions from weeks to minutes. Here is what actually changed and what still decides whether you get financing.
By Kindloom Labs · October 26, 2026
What changed
Deutsche Bank's technology chief, Marie-Jeanne Deverdun, told Reuters on October 26, 2026 that an AI project which went live this summer has cut decisions on some smaller corporate loans from weeks to minutes. For some loans to large multinational companies, she said decisions now take weeks instead of months. The work runs on an internal platform the bank calls ADA, which it uses to build and monitor AI agents, manage their risk, and switch between AI models. The faster decisions apply to companies with simpler corporate and legal structures, which are quicker to assess. Deutsche Bank plans to spend more than 2.5 billion euros on technology between 2026 and 2028.
The honest nuance
This is one large bank describing its own results in an interview, not an independent measurement, and it covers some loans at one lender, not business lending in general. Deutsche Bank's corporate clients are mostly much bigger than a typical small business, so the numbers do not tell you how fast your local bank or an online lender will move. Faster also does not mean easier. The AI speeds up the paperwork and analysis around a decision, but the bank still decides based on your finances, and a quicker answer can just as easily be a quicker no. Nothing here suggests better rates or looser approval rules.
Why it matters for your business
Waiting weeks for a loan answer can hold up an inventory order, an equipment purchase, or a hire. If more lenders use AI to read applications and financial documents, the wait may shrink, but the work moves earlier: the lender's system can only read what you give it. Messy books, missing statements, or numbers that do not match between documents slow an automated review down or push it to a person, the same way they would a human underwriter. Owners who keep their records clean are the ones most likely to see the benefit when lenders speed up.
What to actually do
Before you need financing, get the basics ready: your last two years of financial statements and tax returns, recent bank statements, a current list of what you owe, and a short note on what the loan is for and how you will repay it. Make sure the figures match across every document. When you apply, ask the lender how long a decision usually takes and whether a person reviews it. Compare the full cost of each offer, including fees and repayment terms, not just the speed. A fast yes on a bad deal is still a bad deal.
From Kindloom Labs
If you want a plain-English view of where AI is reliable and where it still needs a person checking its work, the free Quick Read What AI Can and Can't Do is a good place to start.
Sources
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