lenders tightening up

What's remarkable about the results of the Federal Reserve Bank's new survey of lenders is not that some indeed are tightening standards for residential real estate loans; it's how many report they are not!

The Fed survey found 14 percent of respondents tightening lending standards on prime loans, those to customers with good credit. Around 40 percent said they tightened standards for non-traditional loans, and 56 percent for subprime loans. That leaves a healthy percentage of lenders who did not change lending practices in July despite the extreme blowups in the mortgage and credit markets.