OCC: Standards Tighter in Retail and Commercial

American Banker (06/13/08) P. 3; Hopkins, Cheyenne
According to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's annual underwriting survey, 52 percent of national banks have tightened their commercial lending standards after four consecutive years of easing underwriting standards. Meanwhile, 68 percent have tightened retail underwriting standards. OCC officials confirm that the number of banks reporting tightening standards on commercial loans was more than three times those that reported the same last year. Agency officials lament that tighter standards likely came too late to avoid some future losses.