DES MOINES (AP) — Iowans applying for credit are seeing less favorable terms than just a few months ago, as the national credit crunch begins to trickle down.

Iowa State University Assistant Professor of Finance Burt Porter says banks are making it more difficult for borrowers with less-than-perfect credit ratings to get a loan.

He says those that do get a loan are facing higher interest rates regardless of their credit rating.

Iowans dependence on credit is as great as ever, though. According to the Experian National Score Index, the average consumer debt in Iowa, including things like credit cards and car loans, but not mortgages, rose to $13,664 in August, up 5.3 percent from $12,981 last year.

Over the same period, the national average rose 5.0 percent, to $17,038.

Increasingly tight lending standards will affect those with bad credit first. But it won’t be limited to subprime borrowers, said Tom Coates, executive director of Consumer Credit of Des Moines.

He said his group had seen a spike in troubled borrowers looking for help in the last three months.

“Many credit card companies are becoming more selective with their lending,” he said. “If you miss a payment even on a different account, if they are checking your credit report it could trigger a drop in your credit limit or even a rise in your interest rate.”

About a year ago, someone with a credit score of 700 would have qualified for a credit card with a low interest rate, said Curtis Arnold, president of CardRatings.com. But now he is recommending a score of at least 720 for the same terms.

In the past, a credit score of 580 would have gotten you some type of credit, although one with a higher interest rate. Now Arnold has seen credit card issuers requiring scores of around 625 for these subprime cards.

“We knew the credit crunch would take a while to trickle into credit cards, but I don’t think we expected it to trickle over as much,” Arnold said.

The tightening began in the second quarter of 2008, according to a Federal Reserve survey. In the third quarter, national financing companies posted huge losses, in part because of bad-loan write-offs.

Now, many are implementing stricter underwriting standards.

“The more delinquencies rise, the more credit card companies hurt, the more likely they are to squeeze their customers,” Arnold said.

Larger lenders such as Wells Fargo, have also begun tightening standards. Most bank lending officers expect an increase in minimum credit scores required for consumer loans, according to the Federal Reserve survey.