Lending to small U.S. businesses is making a comeback on WallStreet, with 12 investment firms arranging $1.38 billion of initialstock offerings to funnel cash to the nation's biggest jobcreators.

Oaktree Capital Management LP, Crescent Capital Group LP andChurchill Financial Holdings LLC are forming so-called businessdevelopment corporations, which typically lend to businesses withannual revenue of less than $500 million, according to filings withthe U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission. The wave of BDCs isthe largest in at least seven years, based on data from IpreoHoldings LLC in New York.

While the Federal Reserve has flooded the financial system withtrillions of dollars over the past three years, obtaining creditremains a challenge for many borrowers that don't have access tocapital markets. A lack of credit is also hindering thelabor-market recovery, with unemployment hovering above 9 percent.Companies with fewer than 50 employees accounted for more than halfof new jobs created in the past decade.