From the NY Times: Survey Says Small-Business Lending Is Surging (ht Sebastian)

In the third quarter of 2010, five percent of the small companies surveyed [by Greenwich Associates] applied for a loan, a share that tripled in the last three months of the year. In the first three months of 2011, the figure leaped to 29 percent. Loan demand is typically highest at the end of the year, according to Marc Bernstein, the head of small-business banking for Wells Fargo. That would make the jump in applicants in the first months of 2011 especially notable.

The Federal Reserve is expected to release the April 2011 Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey on Bank Lending Practices later today. The January survey indicated some slight easing of standards and more demand for commercial and industrial (C&I), but not for other businesses. It will be interesting to see if the Fed survey for April saw any increase in demand from small firms.Weekend: