The biggest recipients of the government bailout made or refinanced 23 percent fewer new loans in February than in October, the first month banks received TARP funds, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.
Bank executives have argued that they’re not to blame for decreased lending. Demand for loans, they say, is down.
At the same time, a reduction in lending by non-bank businesses hurt or shuttered by the recession has made loans harder to get, they say.
