Lender Life CREDIT TRENDS OPPORTUNITIES EXPERT IDEAS LENDING TRENDS Another look at lending Community banks are expanding loans and exploring new opportunities to respond to the needs of a growing economy. By Carol Patton S igns of a recovering economy are everywhere. The unemployment rate hit 4.4 percent earlier this year, the lowest it had been in a decade. The stock market has hit subsequent all-time highs several times this year. Even consumer borrowing reached a milestone-$12.7 trillion-in the first three months of the year, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. This is all good news for community banks, many of which have expanded their loan activities throughout the year to reap improved loan and deposit ratios. To capitalize on an improved economy, more community banks are involved in a wider variety of lending, ranging from commercial development loans to participation loans. One clear sign of an uptick in lending is that the amount of liquidity community banks have on hand has declined this year, says Rodney Rushing, executive vice president for correspondent banking and credit cards at the $6.5 billion-asset ServisFirst Bank in Birmingham, Ala. ServisFirst is a wholesale bank that works with independentbanker.org ICBA Independent Banker 53http://www.independentbanker.org