Leadership change: The Trump Administration recently appointed Roy Holleman as the new State Director for USDA Rural Development in Louisiana. Holleman, who has worked with the Louisiana Small Business Development Center for years, started on Oct. 28 and will oversee rural development programs across the state, focusing on customers to “restore prosperity” in rural areas, according to a USDA announcement.
Too early: March of Dimes, a nonprofit focused on improving maternal and baby health, issued its 2019 March of Dimes Report Card, which found that for the fourth year in a row, more babies in the U.S. (approximately one in 10) were born too early. Louisiana earned an F grade for the number of preterm births, and Baton Rouge is listed among the 10 worst cities for preterm births.
Lending trends: Loan officers at U.S. banks reported keeping lending standards for business loans mostly unchanged in the third quarter but they tightened the terms for commercial real estate loans, a Federal Reserve survey showed today. Bank officers also said they have been seeing less demand for business loans, though commercial real estate lending has remained steady. Read the full report.
