Senior Loan Officer Survey: Banks Tightening Standards
Net percentage of large U.S. banks tightening credit card approval standards
Where the Senior Loan Officer Survey: Banks Tightening Standards stands now
The Senior Loan Officer Survey: Banks Tightening Standards was 4.0% in the fourth quarter of 2026. Since 1996 it has ranged from -37.3% in the third quarter of 2021 to 71.7% in the third quarter of 2020. It has been lower than a year earlier for three straight years.
What it means for households: Consumer Debt Statistics
How the Senior Loan Officer Survey: Banks Tightening Standards has moved since 1996
Senior Loan Officer Survey: Banks Tightening Standards: little changed over the past year
Federal Reserve Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey, net percent of banks tightening credit card standards: 4.0% in the fourth quarter of 2026, little changed from 4.2% a year earlier. Quarterly, 1996–2026.
What the Senior Loan Officer Survey: Banks Tightening Standards measures
A higher rate is worse for households.
Senior Loan Officer Survey: Banks Tightening Standards by quarter, 1996 to 2026
| Quarter | Rate (%) | Change from a year earlier (percentage points) |
|---|---|---|
| Q4 2026 | 4.0 | −0.2 |
| Q3 2026 | 6.7 | −3.7 |
| Q2 2026 | 2.0 | −3.6 |
| Q1 2026 | 0.0 | −9.4 |
| Q4 2025 | 4.2 | −14.2 |
| Q3 2025 | 10.4 | −9.6 |
| Q2 2025 | 5.6 | −15.6 |
| Q1 2025 | 9.4 | −13.5 |
| Q4 2024 | 18.4 | −10.5 |
| Q3 2024 | 20.0 | −16.4 |
| Q2 2024 | 21.2 | −9.2 |
| Q1 2024 | 22.9 | −5.4 |
| Q4 2023 | 28.9 | +10.1 |
| Q3 2023 | 36.4 | +36.4 |
| Q2 2023 | 30.4 | +40.8 |
| Q1 2023 | 28.3 | +45.3 |
| Q4 2022 | 18.8 | +49.9 |
| Q3 2022 | 0.0 | +37.3 |
| Q2 2022 | −10.4 | +16.7 |
| Q1 2022 | −17.0 | −4.2 |
| Q4 2021 | −31.1 | −57.8 |
| Q3 2021 | −37.3 | −109.0 |
| Q2 2021 | −27.1 | −65.6 |
| Q1 2021 | −12.8 | −26.4 |
| Q4 2020 | 26.7 | +16.3 |
| Q3 2020 | 71.7 | +63.2 |
| Q2 2020 | 38.5 | +23.3 |
| Q1 2020 | 13.6 | +7.2 |
| Q4 2019 | 10.4 | +12.6 |
| Q3 2019 | 8.5 | −3.5 |
| Q2 2019 | 15.2 | +5.8 |
| Q1 2019 | 6.4 | +4.5 |
| Q4 2018 | −2.2 | −11.3 |
| Q3 2018 | 12.0 | +6.2 |
| Q2 2018 | 9.4 | +17.2 |
| Q1 2018 | 1.9 | −6.4 |
| Q4 2017 | 9.1 | +9.1 |
| Q3 2017 | 5.8 | +11.4 |
| Q2 2017 | −7.8 | −2.1 |
| Q1 2017 | 8.3 | +10.2 |
| Q4 2016 | 0.0 | +5.8 |
| Q3 2016 | −5.6 | +2.1 |
| Q2 2016 | −5.7 | −3.9 |
| Q1 2016 | −1.9 | 0.0 |
| Q4 2015 | −5.8 | +3.0 |
| Q3 2015 | −7.7 | +5.3 |
| Q2 2015 | −1.8 | +7.5 |
| Q1 2015 | −1.9 | +5.1 |
| Q4 2014 | −8.8 | −3.6 |
| Q3 2014 | −13.0 | −9.4 |
| Q2 2014 | −9.3 | −1.9 |
| Q1 2014 | −7.0 | −5.0 |
| Q4 2013 | −5.2 | +5.9 |
| Q3 2013 | −3.6 | +7.3 |
| Q2 2013 | −7.4 | +4.2 |
| Q1 2013 | −2.0 | +9.6 |
| Q4 2012 | −11.1 | −3.2 |
| Q3 2012 | −10.9 | −1.6 |
| Q2 2012 | −11.6 | +8.9 |
| Q1 2012 | −11.6 | −1.6 |
| Q4 2011 | −7.9 | +2.1 |
| Q3 2011 | −9.3 | −1.4 |
| Q2 2011 | −20.5 | −29.6 |
| Q1 2011 | −10.0 | −12.8 |
| Q4 2010 | −10.0 | −25.8 |
| Q3 2010 | −7.9 | −43.2 |
| Q2 2010 | 9.1 | −49.0 |
| Q1 2010 | 2.8 | −56.0 |
| Q4 2009 | 15.8 | −43.0 |
| Q3 2009 | 35.3 | −31.4 |
| Q2 2009 | 58.1 | +25.7 |
| Q1 2009 | 58.8 | +49.0 |
| Q4 2008 | 58.8 | +55.6 |
| Q3 2008 | 66.7 | +69.8 |
| Q2 2008 | 32.4 | +43.5 |
| Q1 2008 | 9.8 | +9.8 |
| Q4 2007 | 3.2 | +6.1 |
| Q3 2007 | −3.1 | −0.1 |
| Q2 2007 | −11.1 | −8.5 |
| Q1 2007 | 0.0 | −3.1 |
| Q4 2006 | −2.9 | +0.1 |
| Q3 2006 | −3.0 | +3.5 |
| Q2 2006 | −2.6 | +5.7 |
| Q1 2006 | 3.1 | +6.0 |
| Q4 2005 | −3.0 | −0.1 |
| Q3 2005 | −6.5 | −6.5 |
| Q2 2005 | −8.3 | −11.5 |
| Q1 2005 | −2.9 | −9.2 |
| Q4 2004 | −2.9 | −5.8 |
| Q3 2004 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Q2 2004 | 3.2 | −6.5 |
| Q1 2004 | 6.3 | −9.9 |
| Q4 2003 | 2.9 | −12.3 |
| Q3 2003 | 0.0 | −14.7 |
| Q2 2003 | 9.7 | +1.1 |
| Q1 2003 | 16.2 | −2.0 |
| Q4 2002 | 15.2 | −4.8 |
| Q3 2002 | 14.7 | +3.3 |
| Q2 2002 | 8.6 | −11.4 |
| Q1 2002 | 18.2 | +6.4 |
| Q4 2001 | 20.0 | +11.7 |
| Q3 2001 | 11.4 | +14.0 |
| Q2 2001 | 20.0 | +17.4 |
| Q1 2001 | 11.8 | +7.0 |
| Q4 2000 | 8.3 | +3.4 |
| Q3 2000 | −2.6 | −7.4 |
| Q2 2000 | 2.6 | −10.7 |
| Q1 2000 | 4.8 | −2.5 |
| Q4 1999 | 4.9 | −11.0 |
| Q3 1999 | 4.8 | −15.2 |
| Q2 1999 | 13.3 | −3.0 |
| Q1 1999 | 7.3 | −14.9 |
| Q4 1998 | 15.9 | −9.1 |
| Q3 1998 | 20.0 | −3.3 |
| Q2 1998 | 16.3 | −29.5 |
| Q1 1998 | 22.2 | −14.8 |
| Q4 1997 | 25.0 | −23.9 |
| Q3 1997 | 23.3 | −25.6 |
| Q2 1997 | 45.8 | +22.4 |
| Q1 1997 | 37.0 | +12.0 |
| Q4 1996 | 48.9 | — |
| Q3 1996 | 48.9 | — |
| Q2 1996 | 23.4 | — |
| Q1 1996 | 25.0 | — |
Quarterly · Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey data retrieved via FRED (DRTSCLCC)
Counties with the highest debt burden scores
There's no county figure for this measure, so this list uses the debt burden part of our County Distress Index.
| Rank | County | Score (0–100) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bronx County, NY | 99.6 |
| 2 | Miami-Dade County, FL | 99.4 |
| 3 | Rockland County, NY | 99.4 |
| 4 | Clayton County, GA | 99.1 |
| 5 | Broward County, FL | 99 |
| 6 | Palm Beach County, FL | 98.8 |
| 7 | Santa Barbara County, CA | 98.4 |
| 8 | St. Lucie County, FL | 98.4 |
| 9 | Osceola County, FL | 98.3 |
| 10 | Orleans Parish, LA | 98 |
Questions about banks tightening lending standards
What does this survey measure?
It asks senior loan officers at the Fed's panel of large banks whether their standards for approving credit card applications got stricter, looser or stayed the same over the past three months. The number is the share tightening minus the share easing, counted by bank, not by dollars lent or by borrowers.
If the number falls, are banks easing?
Not unless it falls below zero. Each reading is a change over the prior three months, so a positive number, however small, means more banks made standards stricter than looser that quarter. A falling positive number means tightening is less widespread, not that standards got easier.
Where does the data come from, and when is it released?
The Federal Reserve Board runs the survey four times a year and usually releases it on the first Monday after a Federal Open Market Committee meeting, about five weeks after the quarter it covers. It does not report how many people were turned down for credit; consumer surveys, such as the New York Fed's, measure that.
Sources and method for the Senior Loan Officer Survey: Banks Tightening Standards
- Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey data retrieved via FRED (DRTSCLCC) We use the quarterly figures as published, from the first quarter of 1996 through the fourth quarter of 2026, with no adjustment of our own. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System doesn’t adjust this rate for the season, so compare a quarter with the same quarter a year earlier. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System’s report
We write with assistance from AI tools. Figures come from the data and sources named on this page.