Loans Hard To Come By In Slow Economy

Even though Wall Street has mounted a bit of a comeback, Main Street is still suffering, especially when it comes to credit.

Banks and finance companies are making it much tougher to get loans for everything from cars to appliances.

In short, analysts said the party is over.

A year ago, some banks were giving loans without even checking an applicant's income and people with low credit scores had no problem borrowing cash, but all of that is changing.

Analysts said banks and finance companies are afraid to loan money because of how unstable the market is.

That is having a domino effect throughout the economy.

Businesses of all sizes need credit to do everything from buying inventory to paying their employees.

People going in to get a loan to buy a car, a big screen TV or a home could have a tough time.

One reason it's gotten so bad is that some banks don't have the kind of cash flow they used to.

That's because businesses are having trouble repaying their existing loans and it also goes back to the mortgage mess.

"(People applying for loans) knew they didn't qualify to begin with. They knew they couldn't afford it. They said, 'Well we'll find a way to make it work.' With the economy going down and down and down, unfortunately they couldn't find a way, and it got worse," mortgage broker Jamie Denson said.

Bankers said some finance companies used to rely solely on a credit score to approve a loan.

Now many are asking for tax returns and pay stubs.

They're also requiring a higher credit score to borrow cash because they want to be absolutely certain you can repay that loan.