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Home loans may be harder to come byBut a new survey of loan officers at over 70 banks operating around the U.S. reveals some interesting trends not only about businesses and commercial lending, but about how individuals and households are faring when it comes to access to loans and credit from banks. According to the Federal Reserve's April 2009 Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey on Bank Lending Practices, roughly 50 percent of the banks surveyed say lending standards have become more strict for those people applying for prime mortgages. At the same time, many of those banks have seen an increased demand for that type of home loan. During the last three months - the period covered by the survey - only two banks reported making a subprime mortgage loan. Borrowers looking to get money from a bank using their property as collateral are facing an uphill battle, too, the survey shows. The Fed's report says that 50 percent of U.S. banks surveyed have tightened lending standards on applications for home equity lines of credit - or HELOCs. While this number is down from 60 percent in January's survey, it remains high and could be one reason why demand for this type of household credit has dropped. Banks are also saying that a good credit score is more important than before and a number of the survey respondents report raising the minimum credit score required to open credit cards and take out a variety of consumer loans. Many banks continue to say they are cutting existing lines of credit to card account holders and cutting existing HELOCs.
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