Our message is a simple one: Institutions should strive to meet the needs of creditworthy borrowers, and the supervisory agencies should do all they can to help, not hinder, those efforts. We also are supporting sensible efforts to work with troubled borrowers to bring them back into good standing. In an effort such as this, feedback is critical.
To help us better understand what is going on in the banks we supervise and in the communities they serve, we continue to seek many views. For example, Reserve Banks across the country are meeting with small business owners, community bankers and others to talk about opportunities for – and barriers to – small business lending.