Bank credit standards have been easing recently, boosting the economy, but much of the past three months has been marred by adverse weather that dampened activity.
"On balance, banks eased their lending policies for commercial and industrial (C&I) and commercial real estate (CRE) loans and experienced stronger demand for both types of loans over the past three months," the Fed said in its senior loan officer survey.
The picture for consumers was fuzzier. Demand weakened for mortgage loans and banks reported changes in lending standards were either mixed or stricter. But demand for credit card and auto loans picked up, and bank standards for those borrowers eased.
For businesses, loan demand generally gained steam, both from small and large firms, the Fed said.
About 14% of banks eased their standards for loans to mid-size and large companies while only about 3% tightened their standards. Meanwhile, 10% of banks eased their criteria for small businesses, and only 3% toughened them.
Most banks said consumer demand for mortgages softened. More than 14% of banks tightened their credit standards for prime mortgages, while about 13% eased their criteria. For non-traditional and sub-prime mortgages,far more banks toughened their standards than eased them.
Nearly 8% of banks said they eased their standards for auto loans, with fewer than 2% tightening. And about 14% eased their criteria for credit cards, and none tightened.
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