Local banker Larry Barbour, president and chief executive of North State Bank in Raleigh, is quoted today in a front page Wall Street Journal article about the difficulties small businesses are having getting access to credit.

Barbour raises an issue that many community banks are facing these days: Tough lending standards being enforced by federal regulators.

"For the first time in my 37 years in banking, we're having to say to our clients that we're not sure this will pass muster with the regulators," Barbour told the paper.

There have been a number of articles lately exploring this problem of small business credit, which could severely hurt any potential economic recovery.

Small businesses need access to credit to expand their businesses and hire more people.

If the credit markets don't improve then companies won't be in a position to make the kind of investments that the economy needs to replace all the jobs that have been lost over the last two years.

North State Bank will soon open a groundfloor branch on Fayetteville Street in downtown Raleigh.

Greg Hatem, president of Empire Properties, said North State has leased 5,000 square feet of space on the groundfloor of the company's 230 Fayetteville Street building.

North State currently has a branch on the 12th floor of the 16 W. Martin Street building at the corner of Martin and Salisbury streets.

The new location, scheduled to open sometime in June, will provide the bank with a more visible and convenient location for customers and will include a night drop off, an ATM and counters with bank tellers, Hatem said.

Hatem said the 230 Fayetteville Building is full expect for two smaller spaces.