Chambliss pushes bailout, says banks are not making loans

Republican U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss said Tuesday that some Atlanta banks are not making auto loans because of the credit squeeze connected to the current financial crisis facing the nation.

However, some state banking officials said while credit standards have tightened in recent months, they were not aware of any lenders putting the brakes on underwriting auto loans.

The first-term senator, who is running for re-election, said he has had confidential conversations with several bankers. Those bankers said the credit crunch and federal lawmakers’ inability to pass a rescue plan is quickly undermining their ability to do business, he said.

“There are some banks in Atlanta not making auto loans today,” Chambliss told reporters at a news conference at Peachtree-DeKalb Airport.

“Doing nothing is not the answer.”

Representatives of the state’s two big banking trade groups — the Georgia Bankers Association and the Community Bankers Association of Georgia — say they’re not aware of any total freezes.

“I’m not aware of any bank that has pulled back and said they’re stopping making auto loans because, quite frankly, they’re not doing that many of them in the first place,” said Steve Bridges, president and chief executive of the community bankers’ group. “The senator may be correct, but I have not had those conversations.”

SunTrust, the state’s biggest Georgia-headquartered bank, said it has reduced dealer-financed auto loans by about a third, but is still underwriting lending in that sector.

“We have not frozen; we have clearly tightened our lending standards in certain categories,” said Barry Koling, a SunTrust spokesman. “However, we remain committed to meeting the financial needs of our clients and we have by no means abandoned the lending business.”

Meanwhile, another financial trade group, the Georgia Credit Union Affiliates, said its auto loan volume has actually increased since last December.