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Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey on Bank Lending Practices
April 2011

Survey | Full report (PDF)
Table 1 | Table 2 |Chart data
Table 1 (PDF) | Table 2 (PDF) | Charts (PDF)

Table 2

Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey on Bank Lending Practices
at Selected Branches and Agencies of Foreign Banks in the United States 1

(Status of policy as of April 2011)

Questions 1-6 ask about commercial and industrial (C&I) loans at your bank. Questions 1-3 deal with changes in your bank's lending policies over the past three months. Questions 4-5 deal with changes in demand for C&I loans over the past three months. Question 6 asks about changes in prospective demand for C&I loans at your bank, as indicated by the volume of recent inquiries about the availability of new credit lines or increases in existing lines. If your bank's lending policies have not changed over the past three months, please report them as unchanged even if the policies are either restrictive or accommodative relative to longer-term norms. If your bank's policies have tightened or eased over the past three months, please so report them regardless of how they stand relative to longer-term norms. Also, please report changes in enforcement of existing policies as changes in policies.

1. Over the past three months, how have your bank's credit standards for approving applications for C&I loans or credit lines—other than those to be used to finance mergers and acquisitions—changed?

 All Respondents
BanksPercent
Tightened considerably 0 0.0
Tightened somewhat 0 0.0
Remained basically unchanged 18 81.8
Eased somewhat 4 18.2
Eased considerably 0 0.0
Total 22 100.0

2. For applications for C&I loans or credit lines—other than those to be used to finance mergers and acquisitions—that your bank currently is willing to approve, how have the terms of those loans changed over the past three months?

 All Respondents
BanksPercent
Tightened considerably 0 0.0
Tightened somewhat 0 0.0
Remained basically unchanged 17 77.3
Eased somewhat 5 22.7
Eased considerably 0 0.0
Total 22 100.0
 All Respondents
BanksPercent
Tightened considerably 0 0.0
Tightened somewhat 0 0.0
Remained basically unchanged 19 86.4
Eased somewhat 3 13.6
Eased considerably 0 0.0
Total 22 100.0

 All Respondents
BanksPercent
Tightened considerably 0 0.0
Tightened somewhat 2 9.5
Remained basically unchanged 15 71.4
Eased somewhat 4 19.0
Eased considerably 0 0.0
Total 21 100.0
 All Respondents
BanksPercent
Tightened considerably 0 0.0
Tightened somewhat 1 4.8
Remained basically unchanged 9 42.9
Eased somewhat 10 47.6
Eased considerably 1 4.8
Total 21 100.0
 All Respondents
BanksPercent
Tightened considerably 0 0.0
Tightened somewhat 1 4.8
Remained basically unchanged 13 61.9
Eased somewhat 6 28.6
Eased considerably 1 4.8
Total 21 100.0

 All Respondents
BanksPercent
Tightened considerably 0 0.0
Tightened somewhat 0 0.0
Remained basically unchanged 14 63.6
Eased somewhat 8 36.4
Eased considerably 0 0.0
Total 22 100.0
 All Respondents
BanksPercent
Tightened considerably 0 0.0
Tightened somewhat 0 0.0
Remained basically unchanged 21 95.5
Eased somewhat 1 4.5
Eased considerably 0 0.0
Total 22 100.0
 All Respondents
BanksPercent
Tightened considerably 0 0.0
Tightened somewhat 0 0.0
Remained basically unchanged 15 71.4
Eased somewhat 6 28.6
Eased considerably 0 0.0
Total 21 100.0

3. If your bank has tightened or eased its credit standards or its terms for C&I loans or credit lines over the past three months (as described in questions 1 and 2), how important have been the following possible reasons for the change?

 All Respondents
BanksPercent
Not important 2 100.0
Somewhat important 0 0.0
Very important 0 0.0
Total 2 100.0
 All Respondents
BanksPercent
Not important 1 50.0
Somewhat important 1 50.0
Very important 0 0.0
Total 2 100.0
 All Respondents
BanksPercent
Not important 2 100.0
Somewhat important 0 0.0
Very important 0 0.0
Total 2 100.0

 All Respondents
BanksPercent
Not important 2 100.0
Somewhat important 0 0.0
Very important 0 0.0
Total 2 100.0
 All Respondents
BanksPercent
Not important 1 50.0
Somewhat important 1 50.0
Very important 0 0.0
Total 2 100.0
 All Respondents
BanksPercent
Not important 1 50.0
Somewhat important 1 50.0
Very important 0 0.0
Total 2 100.0

 All Respondents
BanksPercent
Not important 0 0.0
Somewhat important 2 100.0
Very important 0 0.0
Total 2 100.0
 All Respondents
BanksPercent
Not important 2 100.0
Somewhat important 0 0.0
Very important 0 0.0
Total 2 100.0
 All Respondents
BanksPercent
Not important 13 86.7
Somewhat important 2 13.3
Very important 0 0.0
Total 15 100.0

 All Respondents
BanksPercent
Not important 7 46.7
Somewhat important 8 53.3
Very important 0 0.0
Total 15 100.0
 All Respondents
BanksPercent
Not important 10 66.7
Somewhat important 5 33.3
Very important 0 0.0
Total 15 100.0
 All Respondents
BanksPercent
Not important 2 13.3
Somewhat important 5 33.3
Very important 8 53.3
Total 15 100.0

 All Respondents
BanksPercent
Not important 12 80.0
Somewhat important 2 13.3
Very important 1 6.7
Total 15 100.0
 All Respondents
BanksPercent
Not important 11 73.3
Somewhat important 3 20.0
Very important 1 6.7
Total 15 100.0
 All Respondents
BanksPercent
Not important 14 93.3
Somewhat important 1 6.7
Very important 0 0.0
Total 15 100.0

 All Respondents
BanksPercent
Not important 15 100.0
Somewhat important 0 0.0
Very important 0 0.0
Total 15 100.0

4. Apart from normal seasonal variation, how has demand for C&I loans changed over the past three months? (Please consider only funds actually disbursed as opposed to requests for new or increased lines of credit.)

 All Respondents
BanksPercent
Substantially stronger 0 0.0
Moderately stronger 4 19.0
About the same 16 76.2
Moderately weaker 1 4.8
Substantially weaker 0 0.0
Total 21 100.0

5. If demand for C&I loans has strengthened or weakened over the past three months (as described in question 4), how important have been the following possible reasons for the change?

 All Respondents
BanksPercent
Not important 2 50.0
Somewhat important 1 25.0
Very important 1 25.0
Total 4 100.0

 All Respondents
BanksPercent
Not important 1 25.0
Somewhat important 3 75.0
Very important 0 0.0
Total 4 100.0
 All Respondents
BanksPercent
Not important 2 50.0
Somewhat important 2 50.0
Very important 0 0.0
Total 4 100.0
 All Respondents
BanksPercent
Not important 4 100.0
Somewhat important 0 0.0
Very important 0 0.0
Total 4 100.0
 All Respondents
BanksPercent
Not important 1 25.0
Somewhat important 1 25.0
Very important 2 50.0
Total 4 100.0
 All Respondents
BanksPercent
Not important 4 100.0
Somewhat important 0 0.0
Very important 0 0.0
Total 4 100.0
 All Respondents
BanksPercent
Not important 1 100.0
Somewhat important 0 0.0
Very important 0 0.0
Total 1 100.0
 All Respondents
BanksPercent
Not important 1 100.0
Somewhat important 0 0.0
Very important 0 0.0
Total 1 100.0

 All Respondents
BanksPercent
Not important 1 100.0
Somewhat important 0 0.0
Very important 0 0.0
Total 1 100.0
 All Respondents
BanksPercent
Not important 0 0.0
Somewhat important 1 100.0
Very important 0 0.0
Total 1 100.0
 All Respondents
BanksPercent
Not important 1 100.0
Somewhat important 0 0.0
Very important 0 0.0
Total 1 100.0

 All Respondents
BanksPercent
Not important 0 0.0
Somewhat important 1 100.0
Very important 0 0.0
Total 1 100.0

6. At your bank, apart from normal seasonal variation, how has the number of inquiries from potential business borrowers regarding the availability and terms of new credit lines or increases in existing lines changed over the past three months? (Please consider only inquiries for additional or increased C&I lines as opposed to the refinancing of existing loans.)

 All Respondents
BanksPercent
The number of inquiries has increased substantially 0 0.0
The number of inquiries has increased moderately 9 42.9
The number of inquiries has stayed about the same 12 57.1
The number of inquiries has decreased moderately 0 0.0
The number of inquiries has decreased substantially 0 0.0
Total 21 100.0

Question 7 asks about changes in the overall credit quality of potential business borrowers.

7. Based on inquiries from potential business borrowers and on formal applications for new business loans and credit lines received by your bank, how has the overall credit quality (e.g., projections of cash flows or earnings, debt-to-assets ratios, availability of sufficient collateral, etc.) of potential business borrowers seeking new credit—new or increased credit lines or new term loans—changed over the past three months? (Please consider the average credit quality of applications that were denied as well as those that were approved.)

 All Respondents
BanksPercent
Deteriorated significantly 0 0.0
Deteriorated somewhat 1 4.5
Remained basically unchanged 14 63.6
Improved somewhat 7 31.8
Improved significantly 0 0.0
Total 22 100.0

Questions 8-9 ask about commercial real estate (CRE) loans at your bank, including construction and land development loans and loans secured by nonfarm nonresidential real estate. Question 8 deals with changes in your bank's standards over the past three months. Question 9 deals with changes in demand. If your bank's lending standards or terms have not changed over the relevant period, please report them as unchanged even if they are either restrictive or accommodative relative to longer-term norms. If your bank's standards or terms have tightened or eased over the relevant period, please so report them regardless of how they stand relative to longer-term norms. Also, please report changes in enforcement of existing standards as changes in standards.

8. Over the past three months, how have your bank's credit standards for approving applications for CRE loans changed?

 All Respondents
BanksPercent
Tightened considerably 0 0.0
Tightened somewhat 0 0.0
Remained basically unchanged 10 83.3
Eased somewhat 2 16.7
Eased considerably 0 0.0
Total 12 100.0

9. Apart from normal seasonal variation, how has demand for CRE loans changed over the past three months?

 All Respondents
BanksPercent
Substantially stronger 1 8.3
Moderately stronger 2 16.7
About the same 7 58.3
Moderately weaker 2 16.7
Substantially weaker 0 0.0
Total 12 100.0

1. As of December 31, 2010, the 22 respondents had combined assets of $1.0 trillion, compared to $1.9 trillion for all foreign related banking institutions in the United States. The sample is selected from among the largest foreign-related banking institutions in those Federal Reserve Districts where such institutions are common.

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