Demand for Credit Falls as Lenders Raise Standards.

The article reports on the drop in demand for credit as lenders raise the standards in the U.S. as of February 2008. According to the Federal Reserve, consumer borrowing increased to $2.54 trillion while credit-card borrowing gained at a 5.9% pace as demand for automobile loans and other nonrevolving debt dropped to 0.4%. It mentions that the slowdown resulted from lenders being more cautious about lending. Credit card issuer Citigroup Inc. has required higher credit scores for card applicants.