Obama says he hopes banks will loosen credit conditions in the new year, will push for lending

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Obama optimistic banks will ease lending next year

ALLENTOWN, Pa. — President Barack Obama says he’s optimistic that banks will ease lending next year and that should help businesses that want to expand and hire new workers.

At a town hall meeting in Allentown, Pa., Obama was asked Friday what his administration could do to loosen tight credit, especially for struggling small businesses.

He replied that banks were “way too easy in terms of giving credit,” and that contributed to the near financial collapse. Obama said banks now “have swung in the opposite direction” and that the administration will push them to lend to creditworthy customers. The president said “they were used to saying yes to everybody and now they’re saying no to everybody.”