The Federal Reserve Board's latest economic survey was a mixed bag for the banking industry.
The central bank's Beige Book, released Wednesday, reported that some districts showed improvements in loan demand, lending standards and credit quality, while conditions in other regions were unchanged or worse than before.
The report said lending activity "increased modestly" in the Richmond, Va., and Kansas City, Mo., districts.
In the Richmond area, the Fed said, "Most contacts stated that credit quality was slowly improving from a weak base," but "one source noted that delinquencies on both residential and commercial loans were still 'off the charts.' "
Meanwhile, bankers in the Kansas City region "reported slightly increased loan demand, stable deposits and an unchanged outlook for loan quality."
Other positive indicators included rising demand for consumer loans in the New York district for the first time since 2005.
But signs of continued struggle included decreasing loan volumes in St. Louis, and loan demand reported as "soft or weak" in the Cleveland, Atlanta and Dallas regions.
In Dallas, the report said, "Nonperforming loans have stabilized and are not expected to worsen, although contacts said it will be a while before they come down noticeably."
