Banks continued to tighten lending standards for businesses and consumers over the past three months, the Federal Reserve’s latest survey of loan officers showed. But a smaller fraction of banks were making it harder to get loans, an encouraging sign the grip of the credit crunch may soon be easing.

About 15% of banks, on net, said they imposed stricter standards on business loans to firms of all sizes, a smaller fraction than those who said the same in July. They cited a reduced tolerance for risk, an uncertain or unfavorable economic outlook or worsening industry-specific problems.

Read More

Article Photo – Wikimedia