redfern admits to bumps in the road that dinged his credit. this is the new world of lending. >> lenders have returned to the old-fashioned lending standards. they are making loans with the expectation that all of them are going to be repaid. >> reporter: that means making fewer loans to only the best applicants, even small business owners like redfern who had no trouble borrowing money in the past are being turned away. >> the banks don't want to make those loans, but the small business sector as a whole has been having such trouble. but then they can't get the financing they need to run their businesses normally to expand. >> reporter: the number of new small business loans is less than half what it was before the recession. the stimulus has helped. the amount of money loaned through sba's program has risen 50% since february. ever the entrepreneur, redfern doesn't have the loan, but he still has the business. you look at this parking lot and you see cars? >> i see it full. i see it full. >>> now this, a world champion track star being teste

turns out redferne's credit score doesn't match his confidence.bb & t, who recently paid back its own $3 billion bailout said, we would have turned him down based on his credit history. redferne admits to bumps in the road that have dinged his credit. this is the new world of lending. >> wonders are return to the old-fashioned london standards, they are making loans with the expectation that all of them are going to be repaid. >> reporter: that means making fewer loans it only the best applicants. even small business owners like redferne, who had no trouble borrowing money in the past, are being turned away. >> we sort of ended up in a chicken and egg situation where the banks don't want to make loans because the small section as a whole have been having so much trouble but small sectors cannot get the financing they need to expand. >> reporter: the number of new small business loans is less than half of what it was before the recession but the stimulus has helped. the amount of money loaned through sba's program has risen 50% since february. howe

ever the entrepreneur, redfern doesn't have the loan but still has the vision.s parking lot and you see cars and you see a successful restaurant. >> i see it full. >> reporter: cnn, lumberton, north carolina. >>> a lot of you have been responding to our stories about chicago. we hope you tune in tonight. here's what some of you are saying. this is on twitter. gang issues are not addressed appropriately. this is why they continue to grow. the situation unfortunately will get worse. fwj1950 says we need big brothers, rehabilitated gang members, special police force, social programs, and development, jobs and community aid. time4twit says i'm from the chicago burbs and will tell you there is a difference on how the city reacts to crime on the north than it does south. that is a big issue in chicago right now. it's been in the news media because there has been a rise in violence on the north side as well as the south and west sides of chicago. we want you to be part of our community here. twitter, facebook, myspace.com. tonight at 10:00 we are taking an in depth loo

restaurant owner, robert redfern.oyees, a crowded bar on weekends, a dependable banquet business. five years ago, he turned a centuries-old mule stable into this. he's confident he's got the ingredients to open another restaurant here, 35 miles north on i-95 in fayetteville. >> i'll hire 50 people in three months if i get the money i'm looking for. >> $150,000, to be exact. >> my issue is the stimulus money everyone is talking about needs to flow through small businesses like this one. i don't want a bailout, i just want to open the door. i'll walk through it myself. sdplz b >> reporter: but so far that door is shut. we called the area's biggest small business lender and asked them why. it turns out redburn's credit score doesn't match his confidence. a spokesperson of bb and t who recently paid back its own bailout said, we would have turned him down based on his credit history. r redford admits to bumps in the road that would ruin his credit. >> they're making loans with the expectation that all of them are going to

turns out, redfern's credit score doesn't match his confidence.eswoman for bb&t who recently paid back its own $3 billion bailout said "we would have turned him down based on his credit history." redfern admits to bumps in the road that have dinged his credit. this is the new world of lending. >> lenders are returning to the old-fashioned lending standards. you know, they're making loans with the expectation that all of them are going to be repaid. >> reporter: that means making fewer loans to only the best applicants. even small business owners like redfern, who have had no trouble borrowing money in the past, are being turned away. >> we have sort of ended up in the chicken and egg situation where the banks don't want to make the loans because the small business sector as a whole has had so much trouble, but then small business owners can't get the financing to run their businesses normally to expand. >> reporter: the number of new small business loans is less than half of what it was before the recession, but the stimulus has helped. the amount

redfern admits to bumps in the road that have dinged his credit.of lending. >> lenders returned to the old-fashioned lending standards, you know. they're making loans with the expectation that all of them are going to be repaid. >> reporter: that means making fewer loans to only the best applicants, even small business owners like redfern who have had no trouble borrowing money in the past are being turned away. >> we've sort of ended up with the chicken-and-egg situation because the banks don't want to make loans because the small business sectors is having trouble and then they can't get the financing they need to run their businesses normally to expand. >> reporter: the number of new small business loans is less than half what it was before the recession, but the stimulus has helped. the amount of money loans through sba's lending programs has risen 50% since february. ever the entrepreneur, redfern doesn't have the loan, but he still has the fashion. and you look at this parking lot, and you see cars? >> i see it full. >> reporter: and you see

that's how we found rod redfern, watching american morning and telling us his story. >> he's an ex-patriot he was -- he had a sunglasses business. and he said yeah, a long time ago john roberts wore them on the air when you were a v.j. or something. >> small world. >> be nice to people whenever you meet them. >> you never know. >> thanks so much. >> you're welcome. >> you should be nice to be for the heck of it. >> that's true. i agree. >> for more stories of people thriving in a tough economy, watch more money in main street reports 8:00 eastern right here on cnn. >>> latest on the michael jackson investigation. what appeared to be a closed case, new twists and turns going with it. why is the coroner's office looking into michael jackson's dermatologist? we'll find out coming up next, 43 1/2 minutes past the hour. i would say convenience is something that the bank of america really has the market cornered on. let me make it easier for you. let me show you how i can make it easier for you. we have the number one rated online banking website. it has an alert system that can text message you