Last year 39 percent of corporate loans were for five years or longer, compared with 16 percent in 1992.

Analysts and investors said they were relieved that the company did not have to write off a larger amount of corporate loans.

Good demand for corporate loans at many banks shows vigor in the economy.

Almost any corporate loan can be financed these days.

Together, the three accounted for a third of all corporate loans up to $100,000 in 1997, the last year for which data are available.

When American banks make corporate loans, they are often syndicated, or sold off to investors.

But it is also a function of a change in the way banks make corporate loans.

At the same time, banks say, big corporate loans and real estate lending have topped out.

To minimize losses, banks have raised the interest rates on corporate loans.

In theory, corporate loans are among the most secure types of investments.