Data through: Q3 2026 · updated Aug 4 · Updates: Quarterly (surveys in Jan, Apr, Jul and Oct, published about six weeks later)
QThe three bars show the last 3 quarters for this indicator, oldest left to newest right. Bar height reflects each reading relative to the other two — the tallest is the highest of the three, the shortest the lowest.
Historical context: Currently in the 47th percentile of all historical readings.
What this means right now: Lending standards are stable: about as many banks are tightening as easing, as in about 1 survey in 7 since 1990 (22 of 146).
Bank Lending Standards (SLOOS) · Quarterly · 1990–2026
NBER recessions
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Monthly values
Bank Lending Standards (SLOOS) — the last 8 quarters
Every quarter's reading, with the band the heatmap gives it. The chart above shows the same series in full.
Quarter
Value
Band
Q3 2026
+0.0%
Within normal range
Q2 2026
+8.1%
Concerning reading
Q1 2026
+5.3%
Concerning reading
Q4 2025
+6.5%
Concerning reading
Q3 2025
+9.5%
Concerning reading
Q2 2025
+18.5%
Concerning reading
Quarter-end readings of the same series the chart shows, from sloos. Values are the current record, not point-in-time: a month that has since been revised shows its revised value.
What is the SLOOS?
The Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey (SLOOS) measures the net percentage of US banks tightening lending standards for commercial and industrial loans to large and mid-sized firms. A positive reading means more banks are tightening than easing. A negative reading means more are easing, so credit is easier to get.
Lending standards move with the credit cycle, sometimes ahead of it. Since 1990 the survey has shown severe tightening, above +20%, in 6 periods, and a recession was under way or began within a year of the first report in 3 of them: 1990, 2000–01 and 2008. In 2020 the survey that caught the tightening came out only after that short recession had ended. In 1998 and 2022–23 no recession came at all.
Before a recession the survey has not always moved early. The last surveys before the 1990 and 2001 recessions read +54% and +60%. Before the 2008 recession it had reached only +19%, and the survey published a month before the 2020 recession read 0%.
The survey is one of the inputs to the site's Forward Stress gauge, carrying 8.4% of its weight.
Limitations: SLOOS is quarterly, updated four times a year. It is a survey of what banks say they are doing, not of actual loan volumes. It also covers only lending to large and mid-sized firms, which may not reflect conditions for small businesses or consumers.
How We Color-Code the SLOOS
Our heatmap colors this indicator against historically significant thresholds:
Below −20.0%
Aggressive easing — banks competing for loans. 8 surveys since 1990, all in expansions; no recession followed within a year
−20.0% – −5.0%
Easing — banks loosening standards, the most common reading: about 1 survey in 3 since 1990 (52 of 146)
−5.0% – 5.0%
Stable — about as many banks tightening as easing, about 1 survey in 7 since 1990 (22 of 146)
5.0% – 20.0%
Tightening — banks restricting credit, about 1 survey in 5 since 1990 (32 of 146)
Above 20.0%
Severe tightening — about 1 survey in 5 since 1990 (32 of 146), in 6 periods, 3 of them with no recession under way or beginning within a year of the first report
Historical Extremes — What Happened Next?
When this indicator reaches extreme levels, history shows consistent patterns:
Jul 2020COVID-19 credit shock
+71.2%
The sharpest tightening since October 2008, in the survey covering the spring of 2020. It was published in August 2020, after the two-month recession had already ended.
Oct 2008Global Financial Crisis
+83.6%
The record high, in the survey taken a month after Lehman Brothers failed. Banks had been tightening since the second half of 2007, and this survey was the peak of it.
Apr 2005Mid-cycle credit easing
−24.1%
The loosest reading of the 2000s expansion, as banks competed for loan business. Only July 1993 (−25.0%) and July 2021 (−32.4%, the series low) read lower.
Frequently Asked Questions
How often is SLOOS released?
The Fed surveys banks four times a year, in January, April, July and October, asking about the previous three months. Each survey is published about six weeks later, in early February, May, August and November. That delay is why a turn in lending standards can show up after the economy has already turned.
What does a positive SLOOS reading mean?
A positive reading means more banks reported tightening standards than easing them. For example, a reading of +8.1% means 8.1 percentage points more banks tightened than eased. This indicates modest credit restriction — banks are becoming more selective about who they lend to and on what terms.
Why does the Fed care about SLOOS?
The Fed works partly through bank lending. If banks do not pass rate cuts on to borrowers, or tighten standards whatever the rate, policy reaches the economy more weakly. The survey shows whether banks are passing the Fed's rate changes on to borrowers.
What did SLOOS show before the 2008 crisis?
It began rising in the second half of 2007: +7.5% in July and +19.2% in October. It reached +32% in the January 2008 survey and +55% in the April 2008 survey, published in May, four months before Lehman failed. The peak, +83.6%, came in the October 2008 survey.
What is the difference between SLOOS and credit spreads?
Credit spreads price credit risk in the market every day; SLOOS reports what banks say they are doing with their own standards, four times a year. The two have moved together loosely: across 146 quarters the survey and the Baa–10-year spread correlate at 0.44. In 2022–23 banks tightened past +50% while that spread stayed under 2.3 points.