NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The nation’s biggest banks cut their collective small business lending balance by another $1 billion in November, according to a Treasury report released late Friday. The drop marked the seventh straight month of declines.
The 22 banks that got the most help from the Treasury’s bailout programs have cut their small business loan balances $12.5 billion since April, when the Treasury began requiring them to file monthly reports on the tally. The banks’ total lending has fallen 4.6% in that seven-month period, to $256.8 billion.
As Wall Street megabanks return to health — and celebrate with lavish bonuses — President Obama and his administration have been pushing financiers to help spur a Main Street recovery. Small business owners are still reporting difficulty finding banks willing to extend the credit they need to launch, run and grow their ventures.
In December, the President met with a dozen CEOs of the nation’s biggest banks to pressure them to reverse their small business lending declines.
http://money.cnn.com/2010/01/18/smallbusiness/small_business_lending_drop/index.htm
