A new study from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York notes that small business owners drew further on loans against their homes to get access to cash during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Between the early pandemic months of February 2020 to May 2020, the average balance on home equity lines of credit increased 3.4% as the overall average HELOC (home equity line of credit) balance declined 0.6%.

The figures, which measure balances and not originations, illustrate how business owners with existing loans on their personal homes dipped further into the risk of losing their homes in order to keep their businesses afloat.

“You can think of it as a precautionary move,” said New York Fed Senior Vice President Wilbert van der Klaauw, who co-authored the report.

The report, which used some data from credit reporting agency Equifax, added that small business owners were also more likely to participate in mortgage forbearance programs.

About 11% of small business owners were participating in mortgage forbearance in May 2020, compared to 7% of borrowers overall. Since February 2020, 17% of small business owners with personal mortgages participated in a forbearance program at some point.

Van der Klaauw said the results were “surprising” because higher mortgage forbearance uptake during the pandemic was a trend among lower lower-income borrowers, whereas small business owners tended to reside in wealthier areas.

But business owners unable to make money with their businesses partially or entirely closed last year appeared to seek cash flow relief wherever they could find it.

The reliance on mortgage forbearance was different across industries. In accommodation and food services, 23% of business owners entered forbearance on their mortgages at some point over the past year — the highest of any industry looked at by the New York Fed.

By comparison, fewer than 10% turned to mortgage forbearance in the agriculture industry.

Van der Klaauw added that federal relief from the Paycheck Protection Program and other Small Business Administration resources were other avenues for business owners to get help amid COVID disruptions.

Brian Cheung is a reporter covering the Fed, economics, and banking for Yahoo Finance. You can follow him on Twitter @bcheungz.

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