Oct. 27--A statewide survey of credit conditions shows businesses are finding a worsening of available credit, and the survey's findings were the weakest since it began in 2004.

The third-quarter CBIA/TD Bank Survey of credit conditions showed that one in three businesses said credit availability is a "problem" for their firms, the highest reading since the survey began.

"Our expansion is certainly apt to be short lived if credit conditions remain where they are," said Don Klepper-Smith, chief economist and director of research at the New Haven-based DataCore Partners. "In an economic environment that is still risk-averse, we must find new ways to extend credit to Connecticut companies in order to promote growth," he said.

Survey officials said the percentage of businesses reporting difficulty securing credit has more than tripled over the past four years, jumping from 10 percent in the third quarter of 2005 to 31 percent in this year's July-through-September quarter.

Michael Hensinger, TD Bank's head of middle-market based lending, said firms need access to credit to sustain and grow their businesses. "The economic recovery in Connecticut is dependent on the health and growth of our small and medium-sized businesses," said Hensinger.

The survey by the Connecticut Business & Industry Association and TD Bank showed 40 percent of those queried said that they would invest in new plants and equipment -if they could secure the necessary credit. In addition, a third said they would use credit to keep their current work forces and a quarter of those responding said they would use credit to expand their operations, their stores or their branches.

Peter Gioia, the CBIA's economist and vice president, said the survey showed that businesses now receiving financing are not getting all the capital they say they need. About half of those responding to the third-quarter credit survey said they received the actual financing they requested.

"If businesses received the capital they need, we'd see more investment in new plants and equipment, and that would help expand operations and create jobs," he said.

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