Some local bankers say the economy is as bad as they’ve ever seen it. But they add that despite national concerns about a credit crunch, they still have plenty of money to lend.

“We are in a tumultuous time. I started in the industry in 1963. I’ve been through several business cycles. I don’t know that we’ve seen one quite like this one. If everybody will not panic and will support the government, we’ll come through this as we have before,” said Bradford Rowe, president and CEO of First National Bank of Chatsworth.

The foreclosure rate has doubled in the Dalton area in the past year, according to First American CoreLogic, which tracks those numbers. The rate of foreclosures among outstanding mortgage loans was 1 percent in August, the latest month for which data are available, compared to .5 percent in August 2007. The Whitfield County clerk of Superior Court’s office reports that 301 foreclosures have been reported this year through the end of September, compared to 205 for all of 2007. The national foreclosure rate in August was 4.4 percent.

The company reports that 3.9 percent of mortgages in the Dalton area are more than 90 days delinquent, compared to 2.6 percent in August 2007. The company also reports that sales of single-family homes dropped 35.14 percent in the Dalton area in August from the prior year. But home prices actually rose 0.3 percent.

The unemployment rate for the North Georgia area, which includes Whitfield and Murray counties, rose to 6.6 percent in August from 4.2 percent in August 2007, according to the Georgia Department of Labor.

“I’ve been in this business since 1974. I came through the ’70s issues. I came through the ’80s issues. But this is by far the worst economic downturn that I’ve experienced,” said J. Alan Wells, president and CEO of Dalton Whitfield Bank.

Marybeth Meadows, president of First Georgia Bank, agrees.

“I’ve been in banking since 1987, and I have not seen anything of this magnitude. I hope we are at the bottom, but there is so much uncertainty, I’d hate to forecast what might happen,” she said.

There have been reports of a credit crunch in the commercial paper market. But data indicate that hasn’t spread to small businesses yet.

“It seems as though most of the problems have been major institutions, especially those companies that use commercial paper to fund their operations. Companies that depend upon bank loans probably haven’t felt the full effect yet,” said Larry Johnson, a business professor at Dalton State College.

An August survey of its members by the National Federation of Independent Business found just 10 percent reported credit was harder to come by.

Local bankers say they’ve got plenty of money to lend to credit-worthy customers. Their problem is lack of demand.

“The sluggish economy has certainly resulted in a slowdown in loan demand. We do, however, certainly have money to lend,” said David Gregg, president of Alliance National Bank.

Brian Anderson, president of the Dalton-Whitfield Chamber of Commerce, says he hasn’t fielded many calls about a lack of credit.

“The normal type transactions, I think, are still being made. I have heard from at least two local bankers that they’ve assured their customers there’s no need to worry about their banking relationships. They haven’t been heavily exposed to the real estate problems that have affected other organizations. The smaller regional banks that haven’t been in that real estate securities market are just fine,” Anderson said.