In addition, some of our community development offices conduct regional surveys to obtain a better understanding of the characteristics and financing needs of small business owners in their areas. You will hear more about their findings during the second panel today. The Federal Reserve also continues to encourage bank examiners to adopt a balanced approach to reviewing banks’ lending to small businesses.
We hold training sessions for examiners and extend outreach to lenders to promote awareness about both the credit environment and available lending guidance and resources. We would like to foster an environment in which lenders do all they can to meet the needs of creditworthy borrowers while maintaining appropriately prudent underwriting standards.