Profits at big U.S. companies broke records last year, and so did pay for CEOs. The head of a typical public company made $9.WASHINGTON – Demand for business loans increased in the fourth quarter as economic growth accelerated, according to a Federal Reserve survey of senior loan officers at banks.
Seventeen of 56 banks reported stronger demand among companies with $50 million in annual sales or more, according to the survey released last week in Washington, while six reported weaker demand. Demand among small businesses for loans increased by the most in any quarter since 2005.
Economic growth accelerated last quarter to a 2.8 percent annual rate, the fastest pace since the second quarter of 2010.
The pickup in business lending was a reversal of the previous survey, released in November, in which more banks reported a drop than an increase in demand.
