Q3 2026 SLOOS U.S. Branches and Agencies of Foreign Banks Questions

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OMB No. 7100-0058
Approval expires May 31, 2027

FR 2018

Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey
on Bank Lending Practices
July 2026
Questionnaire for U.S. Branches and Agencies of Foreign
Banks

Table of Contents

Page

Commercial and Industrial (C&I) Lending

1

Commercial Real Estate (CRE) Lending

7

Special Questions: Level of Standards

8

Optional Question

11

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July 2026 Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey

Commercial and Industrial (C&I) Lending
Questions 1-6 ask about commercial and industrial (C&I) loans at your bank. Questions
1-3 deal with changes in your bank’s lending policies over the past three months. Questions
4-5 deal with changes in demand for C&I loans over the past three months. Question 6
asks about changes in prospective demand for C&I loans at your bank, as indicated by the
volume of recent inquiries about the availability of new credit lines or increases in existing
lines. If your bank’s lending policies have not changed over the past three months, please
report them as unchanged even if the policies are either restrictive or accommodative relative
to longer-term norms. If your bank’s policies have tightened or eased over the past three
months, please so report them regardless of how they stand relative to longer-term norms.
Also, please report changes in enforcement of existing policies as changes in policies.

1. Over the past three months, how have your bank’s credit standards for approving applications for C&I loans or credit lines—other than those to be used to finance mergers
and acquisitions—changed?
1. Tightened considerably
2. Tightened somewhat
3. Remained basically unchanged
4. Eased somewhat
5. Eased considerably
6. My bank does not originate C&I loans or credit lines

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2. For applications for C&I loans or credit lines—other than those to be used to finance
mergers and acquisitions—that your bank currently is willing to approve, how have the
terms of those loans changed over the past three months? (Please assign each term a number between 1 and 5 using the following scale: 1=tightened considerably, 2=tightened
somewhat, 3=remained basically unchanged, 4=eased somewhat, 5=eased considerably.)
a. Maximum size of credit lines
b. Maximum maturity of loans or credit lines
c. Costs of credit lines
d. Spreads of loan rates over your bank’s cost of funds (wider spreads=tightened,
narrower spreads=eased)
e. Premiums charged on riskier loans
f. Loan covenants
g. Collateralization requirements
h. Use of interest rate floors (more use=tightened, less use=eased)
i. Other (please specify)

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3. If your bank has tightened or eased its credit standards or its terms for C&I loans or
credit lines over the past three months (as described in questions 1 and 2), how important
have the following possible reasons been for the change? (Please respond to either A, B,
or both as appropriate and rate each possible reason using the following scale: 1=not
important, 2=somewhat important, 3=very important.)
A. Possible reasons for tightening credit standards or loan terms:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
i.

Deterioration in your bank’s current or expected capital position
Less favorable or more uncertain economic outlook
Worsening of industry-specific problems (please specify industries)
Less aggressive competition from other banks or nonbank lenders (other financial intermediaries or the capital markets)
Reduced tolerance for risk
Decreased liquidity in the secondary market for these loans
Deterioration in your bank’s current or expected liquidity position
Increased concerns about the effects of legislative changes, supervisory actions, or accounting standards
Other (please specify)

B. Possible reasons for easing credit standards or loan terms:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
i.

Improvement in your bank’s current or expected capital position
More favorable or less uncertain economic outlook
Improvement in industry-specific problems (please specify industries)
More aggressive competition from other banks or nonbank lenders (other
financial intermediaries or the capital markets)
Increased tolerance for risk
Increased liquidity in the secondary market for these loans
Improvement in your bank’s current or expected liquidity position
Reduced concerns about the effects of legislative changes, supervisory actions,
or accounting standards
Other (please specify)

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4. Apart from normal seasonal variation, how has demand for C&I loans changed over the
past three months? (Please consider only funds actually disbursed as opposed to requests
for new or increased lines of credit.)
1. Substantially stronger
2. Moderately stronger
3. About the same
4. Moderately weaker
5. Substantially weaker
6. My bank does not originate C&I loans or credit lines

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5. If demand for C&I loans has strengthened or weakened over the past three months (as
described in question 4), how important have the following possible reasons been for the
change? (Please respond to either A, B, or both as appropriate and rate each possible
reason using the following scale: 1=not important, 2=somewhat important, 3=very
important.)
A. If stronger loan demand (answer 1 or 2 to question 4), possible reasons:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.

Customer inventory financing needs increased
Customer accounts receivable financing needs increased
Customer investment in plant or equipment increased
Customer internally generated funds decreased
Customer merger or acquisition financing needs increased
Customer borrowing shifted to your bank from other bank or nonbank sources
because these other sources became less attractive
g. Customer precautionary demand for cash and liquidity increased
h. Other (please specify)
B. If weaker loan demand (answer 4 or 5 to question 4), possible reasons:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.

Customer inventory financing needs decreased
Customer accounts receivable financing needs decreased
Customer investment in plant or equipment decreased
Customer internally generated funds increased
Customer merger or acquisition financing needs decreased
Customer borrowing shifted from your bank to other bank or nonbank sources
because these other sources became more attractive
g. Customer precautionary demand for cash and liquidity decreased
h. Other (please specify)

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6. At your bank, apart from normal seasonal variation, how has the number of inquiries
from potential business borrowers regarding the availability and terms of new credit lines
or increases in existing lines changed over the past three months? (Please consider only
inquiries for additional or increased C&I lines as opposed to the refinancing of existing
loans.)
1. The number of inquiries has increased substantially
2. The number of inquiries has increased moderately
3. The number of inquiries has stayed about the same
4. The number of inquiries has decreased moderately
5. The number of inquiries has decreased substantially
6. My bank does not originate C&I lines of credit

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Commercial Real Estate (CRE) Lending
Questions 7-8 ask about commercial real estate (CRE) loans at your bank, including
construction and land development loans and loans secured by nonfarm nonresidential properties. Question 7 deals with changes in your bank’s standards over the past three months.
Question 8 deals with changes in demand. If your bank’s lending standards or terms have
not changed over the relevant period, please report them as unchanged even if they are either restrictive or accommodative relative to longer-term norms. If your bank’s standards
or terms have tightened or eased over the relevant period, please so report them regardless
of how they stand relative to longer-term norms. Also, please report changes in enforcement
of existing standards as changes in standards.

7. Over the past three months, how have your bank’s credit standards for approving applications for CRE loans or credit lines changed?
1. Tightened considerably
2. Tightened somewhat
3. Remained basically unchanged
4. Eased somewhat
5. Eased considerably
6. My bank does not originate CRE loans
8. Apart from normal seasonal variation, how has demand for CRE loans or credit lines
changed over the past three months? (Please consider the number of requests for new
spot loans, for disbursement of funds under existing loan commitments, and for new or
increased credit lines.)
1. Substantially stronger
2. Moderately stronger
3. About the same
4. Moderately weaker
5. Substantially weaker
6. My bank does not originate CRE Loans

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Special Question: Level of Standards
Question 9 asks you to describe the current level of lending standards at your bank relative
to the range of standards that has prevailed between 2005 and the present, a period which
likely encompasses a wide range of standards as seen over a credit cycle. For each of the
loan categories listed below, please use as reference points the points at which standards at
your bank were tightest (most restrictive or least accommodative) and easiest (most accommodative or least restrictive) during this period.

9. Using the range between the tightest and the easiest that lending standards at your bank
have been between 2005 and the present, for each of the loan categories listed below,
how would you describe your bank’s current level of standards relative to that range?
(Please respond using the following scale: 1 = near the easiest level that standards
have been during this period, 2 = significantly easier than the midpoint of
the range that standards have been during this period, 3 = somewhat easier
than the midpoint of the range that standards have been during this period,
4 = near the midpoint of the range that standards have been during this
period, 5 = somewhat tighter than the midpoint of the range that standards
have been during this period, 6 = significantly tighter than the midpoint of
the range that standards have been during this period, 7 = near the tightest
level that standards have been during this period.) If a different time frame
(other than between 2005 and the present) would better encompass the most recent
period over which your bank’s standards have spanned the range of easiest to tightest,
please indicate that reference range in the comment box below.
A. C&I loans or credit lines:
a. Syndicated or club loans (large loans originated by a group of relationship
lenders) to investment-grade firms (or unrated firms of similar creditworthiness)
b. Syndicated or club loans to below-investment-grade firms (or unrated firms
of similar creditworthiness)
c. Non-syndicated loans to large and middle-market firms (annual sales of $50
million or more)
d. Non-syndicated loans to small firms (annual sales of less than $50 million)

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B. Loans or credit lines secured by commercial real estate:
a. For construction and land development purposes
b. Secured by nonfarm nonresidential properties
c. Secured by multifamily residential properties
Question 10 asks you to describe the current level of lending standards at your bank for
loans to nondepository financial institutions (NDFIs) in four parts. Part A asks you to
report the period during which you bank started lending to NDFIs. Part B asks you to report
the period during which standards at your bank reached their tightest (most restrictive or
least accommodative) level between 2011 and the present. Part C asks you to report the
period during which standards at your bank reached their easiest (least restrictive or most
accommodative) level during the same period. Part D asks you to describe the current level
of lending standards at your bank for loans to NDFIs relative to the range of standards that
has prevailed between 2011 and the present. Please use as reference points the periods at
which standards at your bank were the tightest and easiest. For definitions of NDFI loan
categories, see FFIEC 002 instructions, Schedule C, item 3.
10. Level of lending standards for loans to NDFIs:
A. Please select the period during which your bank started lending to NDFIs.
a. Before 2011
b. 2011-2015
c. 2016-2019
d. 2020-2022
e. 2023-present
B. Please select the range in which standards for loans to NDFIs at your bank
reached their tightest (most restrictive or least accommodative) level.
a. 2011-2015
b. 2016-2019
c. 2020-2022
d. 2023-present
C. Please select the range in which standards for loans to NDFIs at your bank
reached their easiest (least restrictive or most accommodative) level.
a. 2011-2015
b. 2016-2019
c. 2020-2022
d. 2023-present

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D. Using the range between the tightest and the easiest that lending standards at
your bank have prevailed between 2011 and the present for loans to NDFIs,
how would you describe your banks current level of standards relative to that
range? (Please respond using the following scale: 1=near the easiest level that standards have been during this period, 2=significantly
easier than the midpoint of the range that standards have been during this period, 3=somewhat easier than the midpoint of the range
that standards have been during this period, 4=near the midpoint of
the range that standards have been during this period, 5=somewhat
tighter than the midpoint of the range that standards have been during this period, 6=significantly tighter than the midpoint of the range
that standards have been during this period, 7=near the tightest level
that standards have been during this period.) If a different time frame
(other than between 2011 and the present) would better encompass the most
recent period over which your banks standards have spanned the range of easiest
to tightest, please indicate that reference range in the comment box below.
a. Mortgage credit intermediaries
b. Business credit intermediaries
c. Private equity funds
d. Consumer credit intermediaries
e. Other NDFIs

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Optional Question
Question 11 requests feedback on any other issues you judge to be important but are not
addressed in this survey.

11. Are there any other recent developments in lending practices not addressed in this survey
that you find particularly significant? Your response will help us stay abreast of breaking
issues and in choosing questions for future surveys. There is no need to reply if you have
nothing you would like to add.

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