Good Loan Applications Being Turned Down: Customers...

Good Loan Applications Being Turned Down: Customers who would have been approved for loans a year ago are being turned down by nearly one-third of Western bankers, according to a Western Independent Bankers survey. Some analysts believe a regulator crackdown has discouraged bankers from lending money to qualified customers. Of the 182 bankers responding to the survey released Monday, 30% said they were shunning credit-worthy customers rather than risk rebuke from stringent regulators. Thirty-four percent said regulators have become tougher in their reviews of real estate portfolios.