Loan issuance in the U.S. in 2008 dropped 55 percent, from $1.69 trillion to $764 billion, making it the slowest year since 1994, according to a quarterly survey released Tuesday by Thomsom Reuters Loan Pricing Corp.
Most of the fallout occurred in the second half of 2008, as the world’s markets collapsed.
Institutional loans were the hardest hit, falling 84 percent to $69.6 billion from the previous year.
Also down by 80 percent to $41.3 billion were loans backing leveraged buyouts.
The survey said that in 2009, most lenders will work with people and institutions they know and already trust. The survey also said lenders next year will focus on bankruptcies, restructuring and amending existing loans.