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Tuesday, February 02, 2010 6:06:38 PM
CHART OF THE DAY: Banks Are Choking Off The Oxygen To Small Businesses, While Opening Up The Purse To Large Firms
Joe Weisenthal and Kamelia Angelova | Feb. 2, 2010, 4:31 PM
Are banks tightening or loosening lending standards for business customers?
Well, it depends on who is asking.
If you're a small business -- supposedly the backbone of the economy -- then the answer is tightening. In a recent Fed survey, not a single senior loan officer at a bank reported to loosening lending standards. A small percentage is still tightening for small borrowers, after all this time.
But if you're big, then you're in better shape. Not a single loan officer reported tightening standards, and a small percentage is loosening. It's exactly the reverse.
The government is aware of this, and it's why Obama wants to pump more money into small and community banks. We'll see. Right now the trend is going in the exact wrong direction.
Joe Weisenthal and Kamelia Angelova | Feb. 2, 2010, 4:31 PM
Are banks tightening or loosening lending standards for business customers?
Well, it depends on who is asking.
If you're a small business -- supposedly the backbone of the economy -- then the answer is tightening. In a recent Fed survey, not a single senior loan officer at a bank reported to loosening lending standards. A small percentage is still tightening for small borrowers, after all this time.
But if you're big, then you're in better shape. Not a single loan officer reported tightening standards, and a small percentage is loosening. It's exactly the reverse.
The government is aware of this, and it's why Obama wants to pump more money into small and community banks. We'll see. Right now the trend is going in the exact wrong direction.
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