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Reports on bank consumer lending are in, and it appears that, for credit cards at least, lending standards remain about the same. Calculated Risk reports on the latest bank lending practices survey from the Fed:
The net percentage of domestic respondents that reported having tightened their lending policies on credit card loans remained about unchanged from the January survey, whereas the net percentage that reported having tightened their policies on other consumer loans fell.
It is no surprise that credit card lending standards remain essentially the same — tighter than they have been for years. They haven’t loosened for quite some time as banks have become more reluctant to extend credit.
While many find the thought of getting rejected for a low apr credit card disheartening, there are those who are perfectly content with the situation. Mail offers from credit card companies have all but disappeared from my mailbox. The lack of junk mail represents a vast improvement. Additionally, it might not be a bad thing that fewer people are able to get credit. It could be that these newer lending standards prompt people to think through their spending habits more carefully, and be slower to use credit in the future.
May 4, 2009 at 7:37 pm
[...] business loans and other types of loans — in spite of increased demand for home loans, many credit card lenders have paused in tightening their standards. But even for banks and other lenders that haven’t tightened lending standards recently, it [...]