Skip to main content

Fed's Survey shows no evidence of loan rebound

The Fed's latest survey of Senior Loan Officers reveals a disturbing drop off in the demand for new loans and the renewed tightening of credit conditions for residential mortgages and other consumer loans. On this evidence, claims that quantitative easing will lead to a new boom in bank lending look well wide of the mark. The even greater excess reserves that banks will accumulate gives them the potential to expand their lending quite dramatically. In practice, however, lenders remain reluctant to lend and borrowers remain reluctant to borrow, supporting our view that US economic growth will continue to stumble along at around 2% per annum for some time yet.

Become a client to read more

This is premium content that requires an active Capital Economics subscription to view.

Already have an account?

You may already have access to this premium content as part of a paid subscription.

Sign in to read the content in full or get details of how you can access it

Register for free

Sign up for a free account to gain:

  • Unlock additional content
  • Register for Capital Economics events
  • Receive email updates and economist-curated newsletters
  • Request a free trial of our services


Get access