Some very informative stuff here on bank lending, transportation, autos, the US consumer and the housing market

So when looking at the Senior Loan Officer survey that comes out every quarter, as the latest one was published Monday, after a notable move in one direction in any particular quarter in terms of standards and demand, it's important to follow that by looking at the 'basically unchanged' category. This is because after a string of tightening lending standards over the past year, Q3 saw a 63% figure that was 'basically unchanged' vs 49% in Q2 meaning that while they haven't tightened much further, the cumulative tightening in standards remains. In other words, the credit crunch continues on if you need to rely on a bank for a loan. 

The Fed said "Regarding loans to businesses, survey respondents, on balance, reported tighter standards and weaker demand for C&I loans to firms of all sizes over the 3rd quarter. Furthermore, banks reported tighter standards and weaker demand for all CRE loan categories."

"For loans to households, banks reported that lending standards tightened across all categories of residential real estate (RRE) loans other than government residential mortgages, for which standards remained basically unchanged. Meanwhile, demand weakened for all RRE loan categories. In addition, banks reported tighter standards and weaker demand for home equity lines of credit (HELOCs). Moreover, for credit card, auto, and other consumer loans, standards reportedly tightened, and demand weakened on balance."

There was a special question of note that "inquired about banks' reasons for changing standards for all loan categories in the third quarter of 2023." And the response back was, "Banks most frequently cited a less favorable or more uncertain economic outlook; reduced tolerance for risk; deterioration in the credit quality of loans and collateral values; and concerns about funding costs as important reasons for tightening lending standards over the third quarter."