WASHINGTON — Banks in the United States aren’t tightening credit standards as much as they were a year or two ago, but they haven’t yet loosened the flow of credit to consumers or businesses, the Federal Reserve reported Monday.
The net percentage of banks that were tightening standards was close to zero but positive for most types of loans, the Fed said in its quarterly survey of senior loan officers at 55 U.S. banks and 23 foreign banks doing business in the country.
On net, lending standards have gotten increasingly tighter for nine consecutive quarters. Banks tighten standards in several ways: raising thresholds for credit scores, reducing credit limits, shortening maturities, charging higher interest payments and fees, requiring higher minimum payments, or requiring greater collateral.
Full story: Banks not loosening credit yet, Fed reports Economic Report – MarketWatch