Publications:
2003 Survey of Credit Underwriting Practices
National Credit Committee
September 2003

Commercial Lending Portfolios

Agricultural Lending

Twenty-seven of the 66 banks in the survey were engaged in some form of agricultural lending.

Changes in Underwriting Standards in Agricultural Loan Portfolios
(Percent of Banks)

	Eased	Unchanged	Tightened
1997	8	79	13
1998	18	74	8
1999	3	79	18
2000	3	71	26
2001	3	71	26
2002	0	70	30
2003	0	67	33

Changes in Level of Credit Risk in Agricultural Loan Portfolios
(Percent of Banks)

Declined Significantly Declined Somewhat Unchanged Increased Somewhat Increased Significantly

1997
0

17

66

17

0

1998
0

13

64

23

0

1999
0

6

42

49

3

2000
0

15

41

44

0

2001
0

17

43

34

6

2002
0

7

63

30

0

2003
0

11

48

41

0

Future 12 Months
0

8

70

22

0

Asset-Based Loans

Thirty-one of the surveyed banks were engaged in this type of lending.

Changes in Underwriting Standards in Asset-Based Loan Portfolios
(Percent of Banks)

	Eased	Unchanged	Tightened
1999	10	78	12
2000	11	67	22
2001	5	53	42
2002	3	66	31
2003	0	58	42

Changes in Level of Credit Risk in Asset-Based Loan Portfolios
(Percent of Banks)

Declined Significantly Declined Somewhat Unchanged Increased Somewhat Increased Significantly

1999
0

10

66

24

0

2000
0

8

62

30

0

2001
5

8

42

45

0

2002
0

0

50

50

0

2003
3

26

42

29

0

Future 12 Months
0

13

61

26

0

Commercial Real Estate Loans

This product was separated into three products in this year's survey.

Changes in Underwriting Standards in Real Estate Loan Portfolios
(Percent of Banks)

	Eased	Unchanged	Tightened
1997	38	52	10
1998	43	51	6
1999	23	60	17
2000	21	58	21
2001	10	50	40
2002	0	52	48

Changes in Level of Credit Risk in Commercial Real Estate Loan Portfolios
(Percent of Banks)

Declined Significantly Declined Somewhat Unchanged Increased Somewhat Increased Significantly

1997
0

12

57

28

3

1998 0 9 59 32 0

1999
0

7

51

40

2

2000
0

8

65

27

0

2001
0

6

53

39

2

2002
0

5

38

57

0

Future 12 Months
2

7

27

64

0

Commercial Real Estate Lending-Commercial Construction

Fifty-seven of the 66 banks in the survey were engaged in commercial real estate lending.

Changes in Underwriting Standards in Commercial Construction Loan Portfolios
(Percent of Banks)

	Eased	Unchanged	Tightened
2003	2	61	37

Changes in Level of Credit Risk in Commercial Construction Loan Portfolios
(Percent of Banks)

Declined Significantly Declined Somewhat Unchanged Increased Somewhat Increased Significantly

2003
0

7

46

42

5

Future 12 Months
0

3

44

53

0

Commercial Real Estate Lending-Residential Construction

Fifty of the 66 banks in the survey were engaged in residential construction real estate lending.

Changes in Underwriting Standards in Residential Construction Loan Portfolios
(Percent of Banks)

	Eased	Unchanged	Tightened
2003	0	76	24

Changes in Level of Credit Risk in Residential Construction Loan Portfolios
(Percent of Banks)

Declined Significantly Declined Somewhat Unchanged Increased Somewhat Increased Significantly

2003
0

2

62

34

2

Future 12 Months
0

2

42

56

0

Commercial Real Estate Lending-Other

Fifty-eight of the 66 banks in the survey were engaged in other commercial real estate lending.

Changes in Underwriting Standards in Other Commercial Real Estate Loan Portfolios
(Percent of Banks)

	Eased	Unchanged	Tightened
2003	5	71	24

Changes in Level of Credit Risk in Other Commercial Real Estate Loan Portfolios
(Percent of Banks)

Declined Significantly Declined Somewhat Unchanged Increased Somewhat Increased Significantly

2003
0

5

48

43

4

Future 12 Months
0

5

40

55

0

International Lending

Only 18 of the 66 banks in the survey were active in international lending.

Changes in Underwriting Standards in International Loan Portfolios
(Percent of Banks)

	Eased	Unchanged	Tightened
1997	34	63	3
1998	5	53	42
1999	4	54	42
2000	14	72	14
2001	29	57	14
2002	11	61	28
2003	6	55	39

Changes in Level of Credit Risk in International Loan Portfolios
(Percent of Banks)

Declined Significantly Declined Somewhat Unchanged Increased Somewhat Increased Significantly

1997
0

7

70

23

0

1998
5

9

42

42

2

1999
8

8

42

38

4

2000
0

33

53

14

0

2001
0

14

53

33

0

2002
0

22

39

28

11

2003
0

6

55

33

6

Future 12 Months
6

6

50

38

0

Middle Market Lending

Fifty-four of the 66 banks in the survey were engaged in middle market lending.

Changes in Underwriting Standards in Middle Market Loan Portfolios
(Percent of Banks)

	Eased	Unchanged	Tightened
1997	42	55	3
1998	47	50	3
1999	18	73	9
2000	18	66	16
2001	11	48	41
2002	0	60	40
2003	6	63	31

Changes in Level of Credit Risk in Middle Market Loan Portfolios
(Percent of Banks)

Declined Significantly Declined Somewhat Unchanged Increased Somewhat Increased Significantly

1997
0

8

64

28

0

1998
0

4

61

35

0

1999
0

8

56

36

0

2000
0

2

50

46

2

2001
0

2

35

59

4

2002
2

8

22

66

2

2003
0

13

39

44

4

Future 12 Months
0

13

39

48

0

Small Business Lending

Fifty-two of the 66 banks in the survey are lending in the small business market.

Changes in Underwriting Standards in Small Business Loan Portfolios
(Percent of Banks)

	Eased	Unchanged	Tightened
1997	15	69	16
1998	24	72	4
1999	13	75	12
2000	8	73	19
2001	5	63	32
2002	2	66	32
2003	4	65	31

Changes in Level of Credit Risk in Small Business Loan Portfolios
(Percent of Banks)

Declined Significantly Declined Somewhat Unchanged Increased Somewhat Increased Significantly

1997
0

9

70

20

1

1998
0

6

68

25

1

1999
0

8

67

23

2

2000
0

3

72

22

3

2001
0

3

60

37

0

2002
0

2

56

40

2

2003
0

4

56

38

2

Future 12 Months
0

12

38

50

0

Structured Finance

Twenty-one of the 66 banks in the survey provided structured finance loans.

Changes in Underwriting Standards in Structured Finance Loan Portfolios
(Percent of Banks)

	Eased	Unchanged	Tightened
1999	24	44	32
2000	35	45	20
2001	0	4	96
2002	0	44	56
2003	0	48	52

Changes in Level of Credit Risk in Structured Finance Loan Portfolios
(Percent of Banks)

Declined Significantly Declined Somewhat Unchanged Increased Somewhat Increased Significantly

1999
0

4

36

56

4

2000
0

0

20

80

0

2001
0

4

8

46

42

2002
0

7

26

52

15

2003
10

33

28

29

0

Future 12 Months
0

33

29

38

0

Syndicated/National Credits

Thirty-seven of the 66 banks in the survey were active in the syndicated/national credit market.

Changes in Underwriting Standards in Syndicated/National Credit Portfolios
(Percent of Banks)

	Eased	Unchanged	Tightened
1997	50	44	6
1998	54	37	9
1999	18	50	32
2000	22	61	17
2001	0	34	66
2002	0	45	55
2003	3	49	48

Changes in Level of Credit Risk in Syndicated/National Credit Portfolios
(Percent of Banks)

Declined Significantly Declined Somewhat Unchanged Increased Somewhat Increased Significantly

1997
0

8

52

40

0

1998
0

2

48

50

0

1999
0

0

45

45

10

2000
0

0

36

61

3

2001
0

6

17

63

14

2002
0

8

29

53

10

2003
5

27

33

30

5

Future 12 Months
3

14

51

32

0

Retail Lending Portfolios

Affordable Housing Lending

For the purposes of this survey, affordable housing loans included all types of loans on affordable housing for low- and moderate-income individuals and families, including single- to four-family and multifamily dwellings. Thirty-four of the 66 banks in the survey were reported to be making affordable housing loans.

Changes in Underwriting Standards in Affordable Housing Loan Portfolios
(Percent of Banks)

	Eased	Unchanged	Tightened
1997	11	74	15
1998	9	86	5
1999	16	70	14
2000	10	84	6
2001	6	88	6
2002	3	91	6
2003	3	88	9

Changes in Level of Credit Risk in Affordable Housing Loan Portfolios
(Percent of Banks)

Declined Significantly Declined Somewhat Unchanged Increased Somewhat Increased Significantly

1997*
1

4

76

15

3

1998
0

5

78

15

2

1999
2

2

78

18

0

2000
0

6

83

11

0

2001
2

2

88

8

0

2002
0

6

73

21

0

2003
0

9

76

15

0

Future 12 Months
0

6

68

26

0

*NA (not available) responses excluded.

Consumer Leasing

Consumer leasing was offered by 13 of the 66 banks in the survey.

Changes in Underwriting Standards in Consumer Leasing Portfolios
(Percent of Banks)

	Eased	Unchanged	Tightened
1998	4	67	29
1999	5	54	41
2000	0	50	50
2001	0	56	44
2002	0	67	33
2003	0	69	31

Changes in Level of Credit Risk in Consumer Leasing Portfolios
(Percent of Banks)

Declined Significantly Declined Somewhat Unchanged Increased Somewhat Increased Significantly

1998
0

4

38

58

0

1999
0

5

50

45

0

2000
0

5

67

28

0

2001
6

11

39

44

0

2002
7

13

26

47

7

2003
8

15

69

8

0

Future 12 Months
8

38

46

8

0

Credit Card Lending

Twenty-seven of the 66 banks in the survey were engaged in credit card lending.

Changes in Underwriting Standards in Credit Card Loan Portfolios
(Percent of Banks)

	Eased	Unchanged	Tightened
1997	3	38	59
1998	3	59	38
1999	8	66	26
2000	9	75	16
2001	16	60	24
2002	12	66	22
2003	19	62	19

Changes in Level of Credit Risk in Credit Card Loan Portfolios
(Percent of Banks)

Declined Significantly Declined Somewhat Unchanged Increased Somewhat Increased Significantly

1997*
1

8

27

47

15

1998
9

15

33

41

2

1999
0

13

47

36

4

2000
0

16

66

16

2

2001
8

5

57

27

3

2002
0

6

54

31

9

2003
0

22

48

30

0

Future 12 Months
4

7

37

52

0

*NA (not available) responses excluded.

Direct Consumer Lending

Fifty-three of the 66 banks in the survey were engaged in direct consumer lending.

Changes in Underwriting Standards in Other Direct Consumer Loan Portfolios
(Percent of Banks)

	Eased	Unchanged	Tightened
1997	15	59	26
1998	13	65	22
1999	7	74	19
2000	10	78	12
2001	7	73	20
2002	2	67	31
2003	8	68	24

Changes in Level of Credit Risk in Other Direct Consumer Loan Portfolios
(Percent of Banks)

Declined Significantly Declined Somewhat Unchanged Increased Somewhat Increased Significantly

1997
0

4

60

34

2

1998
1

9

55

35

0

1999
0

7

65

28

0

2000
0

9

74

15

2

2001
0

7

71

20

2

2002
2

6

67

25

0

2003
2

17

72

7

2

Future 12 Months
0

9

59

32

0

Home Equity - Conventional Lending

Fifty-seven of the 66 banks in the survey offered the conventional home equity lending product.

Changes in Underwriting Standards in Home Equity - Conventional Loan Portfolios
(Percent of Banks)

	Eased	Unchanged	Tightened
1997	38	58	4
1998	33	60	7
1999	23	67	10
2000	23	64	13
2001	7	70	23
2002	0	74	26
2003	18	63	19

Changes in Level of Credit Risk in Home Equity - Conventional Loan Portfolios
(Percent of Banks)

Declined Significantly Declined Somewhat Unchanged Increased Somewhat Increased Significantly

1997
0

3

55

42

0

1998
0

6

61

30

3

1999
0

0

69

29

2

2000
0

5

73

20

2

2001
0

11

74

13

2

2002
0

7

71

22

0

2003
4

4

69

23

0

Future 12 Months
0

4

49

47

0

Home Equity - High LTV Lending

Twenty-eight of the 66 banks in the survey offered the high LTV home equity lending product.

Changes in Underwriting Standards in Home Equity - High LTV Loan Portfolios
(Percent of Banks)

	Eased	Unchanged	Tightened
1999	20	61	19
2000	21	55	24
2001	11	54	35
2002	0	56	44
2003	7	68	25

Changes in Level of Credit Risk in Home Equity - High LTV Loan Portfolios
(Percent of Banks)

Declined Significantly Declined Somewhat Unchanged Increased Somewhat Increased Significantly

1999
0

6

47

44

3

2000
0

13

58

24

5

2001
5

11

62

16

6

2002
0

12

40

44

4

2003
0

11

50

36

3

Future 12 Months
0

7

36

57

0

Indirect Consumer Leasing

Forty of the 66 banks in the survey were engaged in indirect consumer lending.

Changes in Underwriting Standards in Indirect Consumer Loan Portfolios
(Percent of Banks)

	Eased	Unchanged	Tightened
1997	16	51	33
1998	13	39	48
1999	7	56	37
2000	7	60	33
2001	7	63	30
2002	0	72	28
2003	5	65	30

Changes in Level of Credit Risk in Indirect Consumer Loan Portfolios
(Percent of Banks)

Declined Significantly Declined Somewhat Unchanged Increased Somewhat Increased Significantly

1997*
2

3

45

42

5

1998
0

21

32

43

4

1999
2

23

42

33

0

2000
7

16

55

22

0

2001
2

21

39

33

5

2002
3

13

38

43

3

2003
5

20

47

28

0

Future 12 Months
8

12

45

35

0

*NA (not available) responses excluded.

Residential Real Estate Lending

Fifty-seven of the 66 surveyed banks were engaged in residential real estate lending.

Changes in Underwriting Standards in Residential Real Estate Loan Portfolios
(Percent of Banks)

	Eased	Unchanged	Tightened
1997	14	83	3
1998	9	87	4
1999	14	77	9
2000	7	85	8
2001	12	72	16
2002	4	83	13
2003	2	86	12

Changes in Level of Credit Risk in Residential Real Estate Loan Portfolios
(Percent of Banks)

Declined Significantly Declined Somewhat Unchanged Increased Somewhat Increased Significantly

1997*
0

5

73

20

0

1998
1

4

74

18

3

1999
3

5

71

21

0

2000
0

3

83

12

2

2001
0

9

76

15

0

2002
0

8

68

24

0

2003
0

12

74

12

2

Future 12 Months
0

2

72

26

0

*NA (not available) responses excluded.

Part I - Overall Results

Part II - Graphs

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency was created by Congress to charter national banks, to oversee a nationwide system of banking institutions, and to assure that national banks are safe and sound, competitive and profitable, and capable of serving in the best possible manner the banking needs of their customers.

Publications:2003 Survey of Credit Underwriting PracticesNational Credit CommitteeSeptember 2003Commercial Lending Portfolios

Publications:
2003 Survey of Credit Underwriting Practices
National Credit Committee
September 2003

Commercial Lending Portfolios