The Fed's Senior Loan Officer Survey has found very little tendency toward tightening of loan standards for consumers, either in regard to residential mortgages or other types of consumer loans; and, as I have already discussed, the demand for mortgage loans and home equity loans has been exceptionally strong. Business lending, by contrast, has been weak.
In part, reduced business lending may reflect some tightening of 66 lending standards, particularly by larger banks and for riskier borrowers. Probably the more important  5  Bassett and Carlson (2002) discuss bank performance in 2001. 6  That tightening has been most prevalent at the largest banks is suggested by analysis of the Senior Loan Officer Survey.