also know, from the survey conducted by the national federation of independent business that while only 8 percent of small businesses list access to credit as their principal immediate economic problem, just 40 percent of small businesses attempting to borrow in 2009 had all of their credit needs met. 4 surveys like the two i just mentioned are informative, but getting a full picture also requires hearing from knowledgeable people with diverse perspectives on these issues. meetings like this one allow us to gather intelligence we and others can use to facilitate the flow of credit to small businesses – for instance, by identifying specific credit gaps, clarifying examiner expectations and procedures, improving coordination of small business support services, and ensuring the availability of technical assistance for loan applications. thus we can help ensure that small businesses are able to participate in and contribute to the recovery. the findings from the entire series of meetings sponsored by the federal reserve will be presented at a culminating conference at the board of governors in washington later this summer. learning from people engaged with small businesses and small business credit, like those here today, is vital if we are to make progress. i look forward to hearing your ideas and concerns, and thank you again for joining us. for example, see board of governors of the federal reserve system, federal deposit insurance corporation, national credit union administration, office of the comptroller of the currency, office of thrift supervision, and conference of state bank supervisors ( 2010 ), “ regulators issue statement on lending to creditworthy small businesses ”, joint press release, february 5. see the april 2010 senior loan officer opinion survey on bank lending practices available on the board of governors ’ website. see william j. dennis, jr. ( 2010 ), small business credit in a deep recession ( washington : national federation of independent business., february ).

has been slower in countries that are among our largest trading partners, weighing on u. s. growth by reducing demand for u. s. exports. but even with those impediments, i believe the strong recovery will keep rolling forward. let me walk through the evidence for that optimistic view. first, i see increasing recognition by the private and public sectors that a broad reopening can proceed safely. i2 the centers for disease control and prevention has dropped most socialdistancing recommendations for vaccinated people. 23 although local covid - 19 restrictions on schooling and economic activity continue in some areas, most schools are teaching in person at least part time and more than half of states have dropped all capacity constraints on restaurants, bars, and retail establishments. more than a dozen more states are planning to do so over the coming weeks. with these reopenings, consumer spending, which is two - thirds of gross domestic product ( gdp ), will remain robust, supported by personal income that has, thanks to significant fiscal support, now surpassed the trend it was on before the covid event. april ’ s retail sales results were flat, but that came after enormous gains in march that were boosted by the latest round of stimulus checks. looking beyond the headline numbers, sales were up 13 percent in march and 3 percent in april at restaurants and bars, one of the sectors hardest hit by the covid - 19 event. april and march were the third - and fourth - best months for vehicle sales to consumers in u. s. 1 / 6 bis central bankers'speeches history, if you filter out sales to car rental companies, a sector just beginning to recover. you might expect this bounce will subside after consumption regains the strong trend it was on pre - covid - 19, but one reason i think it will continue is the still high rate at which people have been adding to their savings. even as personal consumption expenditures rose at a huge 10 percent annual rate in the first quarter of 2021, the saving rate averaged 21 percent over those three months. again, a lot of that reflected the most recent round of stimulus payments, but as employment grows and people return to normal life and work, the accumulated stock of savings will support spending for many months to come. business investment took a big hit in the first half of 2020 but has come back strongly and is now running above pre - pandemic levels. current indicators of business spending are pointing to continued elevated levels of investment in the