As another signal of an improving U.S. economy, the nation's biggest banks have started to loosen mortgage lending guidelines. As reported by the Federal Reserve, last quarter, no "big banks" reported stricter mortgage standards as compared to the quarter prior and "modest fractions" of banks reported easier mortgage standards. The data comes from the Fed's quarterly Senior Loan Officer Survey, a questionnaire sent to 64 domestic banks and 23 U.S. branches of foreign banks. The survey is meant to gauge, among other things, direct demand for consumer loans and banks' willingness to meet … [Read more...]