Are tight mortgage lenders going to loosen up a bit?

All talk these days is about a credit crunch, but the doom and gloom seems to miss one point: Banks can't stay tight forever. They are, after all, in the money lending business. McDonald's sells hamburgers. Residential lenders lend to residences.

After a suitable period they'll have to start loosening up mortgage lending a bit if they want to make money. That assumes the federal government doesn't pass onerous regulations that torpedoes the ship while claiming to bail it out.

Here's the latest about bank's lowering interest rates this week. Note the growth in refinancings. People may not be buying homes, but you can count on them to refinance if the terms are generous.