Kirsten Curry, owner of Leading Retirement Solutions, has applied to four banks for loans for the retirement planning advisory firm and been turned down by three.

NEW YORK — Getting a bank loan is still a struggle for many women who own businesses.

Kirsten Curry has had three rejections in the past six months and is waiting to hear from a fourth bank. Curry, owner of Seattle-based Leading Retirement Solutions, has applied to national banks, a regional bank and a credit union. The problem is that her 8-year-old retirement advisory firm lost money last year as it invested in technology to help it expand. Although revenue has consistently risen and her company has no debt, her expenses last year were a red flag.

“Though we know we’re going to see growth, it’s not necessarily guaranteed,” Curry says.

A survey of businesses conducted this summer and released Wednesday found that 30 percent of companies owned by women were able to get bank loans during the previous three months, compared to half of all the owners surveyed. The survey conducted by researchers at Pepperdine University’s Graziadio School of Business and Management and Dun & Bradstreet Corp. questioned owners of companies with up to $100 million in annual revenue.

Only 21 percent of the women surveyed said they expected it would be easy to raise debt financing — essentially loans — in the next six months, compared to 44 percent of all companies.

Women were also more pessimistic about the impact on their companies of not being able to get financing — 64 percent predicted slower growth versus 44 percent of all business owners.

Many women will turn to personal savings, friends and family, credit cards and other alternatives. Curry isn’t optimistic about an approval from the fourth bank, so she and her finance manager, Jaime Humphrey, are working with a referral program to link them up with other banks.

Bank of America found this year that 11 percent of owners who are women applied for loans the past two years versus 13 percent of owners who are men. Some banks have realized they need to be more aggressive in lending to businesses owned by women; Wells Fargo set a goal of $55 billion in loans by 2020, but surpassed that number in 2013, spokesman Jim Seitz says.

Carolyn Thompson, a business owner for two decades, says she’s gotten six business loans over the years because she applied at community or regional banks.

“I learned a long time ago that as a small-business owner, you can’t go to a large bank,” says Thompson, president of Merito Group, an employment consulting firm based in Vienna, Va. With a smaller bank, it’s easier to get to know employees who have a hand in making loan decisions.

Kate Lester’s application was rejected by the big bank where her family had eight personal accounts.

“They didn’t give us a reason,” says Lester, who owns a 6-year-old eponymous interior design firm in Hermosa Beach, Calif.

Lester began searching for alternatives online and found a company that arranges what’s known as peer-to-peer lending — loans from private lenders or investors. She’s already repaying the 5-year loan. The loan interest is higher than what a bank would have charged, but Lester says it’s money well spent.

“After the first month of being open, the store exceeded sales predictions,” she said.