Lending Standards Are Easing - A Little

The federal reserve surveys senior bank credit officers four times a year about whether their lending standards are tightening, stable or easing.  Here's a table summarizing the trend in bank lending standards for small businesses over the past 10 years.  The table shows that after tightening during the three years of the recession (2007-2009) a few banks have begun to ease their lending standards.

Federal Reserve Survey of Bank Lending Practices

Date	Tightened	Stable	Easing
Oct-13	3%	86%	11%
Oct-12	2%	89%	10%
Oct-11	2%	90%	8%
Oct-10	4%	86%	10%
Oct-09	14%	86%	0%
Oct-08	74%	26%	0%
Oct-07	10%	90%	0%
Oct-06	7%	85%	8%
Oct-05	0%	94%	6%
Oct-04	2%	78%	20%
Oct-03	0%	84%	16%

My experience reflects this trend.  I rely on bank lines of credit to finance my companies.  Credit was easy to obtain prior to 2007.  The world changed during the 2008 recession.  My banks almost doubled the cost of my lines of credit.  A couple of my banks ceased making new loans.  In the last year it has gotten easier to finance my lending companies.  I started doing business with a new bank.  My existing banks have been easier to work with.  My borrowing costs, however, are still higher than they were prior to the 2008 recession.