LINDA WERTHEIMER, host: NPR's business news starts with easing lending standards for small business.</s>LINDA WERTHEIMER, host: A new survey by the Federal Reserve shows that banks are making it easier for businesses to borrow money. Credit has been tight. Banks choked off lending to all but the biggest and safest companies after the financial crisis. But despite the looser standards and historically low interest rates, the Fed says few companies actually want to borrow money. With the economy still weak, many are not sure they want to take on new debt. And even though it's easier to get a loan now than it was at the height of the crisis, banks' lending standards now are still far stricter than they were before the financial meltdown.
A new survey by the Federal Reserve shows that banks are making it easier for businesses to borrow money. Credit has been tight — banks had choked off lending to all but the biggest and safest companies after the financial crisis began two years ago.