Bank Lending Standards, Read for a Borrower

What the survey is and when it comes out

The SLOOS is run by the Federal Reserve Board, generally four times a year, timed so the results are ready for the Federal Open Market Committee's meetings in January or February, April or May, August, and October or November. The Fed occasionally adds an extra survey. Each round asks senior loan officers how their standards, terms and loan demand have changed over the past three months, for business, real estate and consumer loans, plus special questions on a topic of the moment.

The October 2026 survey went to banks on September 21, with answers due October 5, and covers roughly the third quarter. It drew responses from 61 domestic banks and 18 U.S. branches and agencies of foreign banks, and was published at 2:00 p.m. on November 2, 2026. The next regular survey is timed for the committee's January 26–27, 2027 meeting; the Fed lists the release on its SLOOS page.

What "net percentage tightening" means

The survey does not ask banks by how much they changed their standards, only in which direction. The headline measure is the share of banks that tightened minus the share that eased. A positive number means more banks tightened than eased; zero means the two groups were the same size; a negative number means net easing. It says nothing about how strict standards are, only whether they moved.

The same arithmetic for consumer loans other than cards and auto loans, the group that includes many bank personal loans, gives 3.8% tightening minus 1.9% easing: a net 1.9%, with 49 of 52 banks reporting no change. Small samples move these numbers a lot. One bank switching its answer changes the card figure by two points.

What the October 2026 survey said about consumers

• Standards: banks left standards and most terms basically unchanged for credit card, auto and other consumer loans.
• The exceptions: they tightened how far they lend to borrowers who do not meet credit scoring thresholds, for cards and other consumer loans, and tightened credit limits on card accounts and the minimum credit score for auto loans.
• Demand: stronger for credit card loans, weaker for auto loans, basically unchanged for other consumer loans.
• Over the past year: in a special question, banks said they were more likely to approve card applications from super-prime and prime borrowers and less likely to approve subprime ones; near-prime was basically unchanged.

The picture is a split one. For applicants with strong credit, little has changed and banks report more willingness to approve them. For applicants near or below a bank's score cutoff, the door has narrowed a little over 2026. That fits the G.19 rate data in the consumer credit report, where the bank average for a 24-month personal loan was 11.90% in the third quarter.

What tighter standards mean for an applicant

Standards are the rules a lender uses to say yes or no; terms are the price and shape of the yes. When a lender tightens, the change usually shows up in a few places at once.

What you can do when standards tighten

1. 1 Check your credit reports and score before you apply, and dispute errors. Funditia explains how card utilization affects a score, often the fastest thing to improve.
2. 2 Prequalify with several lenders. Most use a soft inquiry for a rate estimate, so you can see which ones will consider you without a hard pull for each.
3. 3 Ask for what you need, not the maximum. A smaller amount or shorter term can fall inside a stricter limit and costs less interest.
4. 4 Have documents ready: two recent pay stubs, last year's W-2 or tax return, and statements for the debts you plan to pay off.
5. 5 Compare the consolidation math with the loan vs. card calculator before you accept a partial approval.

Standards tend to tighten most in downturns, when lenders expect more defaults; the July 2020 survey, for example, reported that major net shares of banks tightened standards on all categories of consumer loans. Recession and borrowing covers that case.

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