Capital Briefs: Small Banks Maintaining Lending Standards

Loan terms and conditions are holding steady at most small banks, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said Thursday.

During the six months from April through September, FDIC examiners surveyed loan underwriting standards at 1,383 state-chartered institutions. They found 90% had not changed their practices since their last exam while 5% had loosened standards.

FDIC cited a few areas of potential concern, including that 28% of the banks surveyed frequently failed to consider quality when pricing loans. However, the agency said almost all of the banks active in credit card lending were handling the risks well.

- Jaret Seiberg and Barbara A. Rehm

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