More lenders have stiffened their standards in the wake of increasing turmoil within the banking sector, according to the Federal Reserve’s quarterly Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey released Monday. Survey respondents attributed the changes in lending standards to economic uncertainty, a reduced appetite for risk, deterioration in collateral values and broader concerns about banks’ funding costs and liquidity positions, according to the Fed report.
“I think we knew that before the survey, but now we have that quantified here with how it’s impacting lending.” For consumers, the impacts have been varied, according to a separate report released Monday by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The sharp decline in perceived credit access and availability seen in March wasn’t replicated in this month’s survey results.