Flush with funds, banks may reward mid-sized borrowers. (Trends)

Bank lending to middle-market companies has been the pits lately. Many banks have been reluctant lenders due to stepped-up regulatory scrutiny and aversion to risk. Anecdotes about banks suddenly cutting off credit to stable, long-time customers have stirred indignation and sold newspapers, but in fact many middle-market treasury managers simply chose to defer borrowing until the scope of the recession became clearer.

Both the supply of bank credit and demand for it have withered under wintry economic conditions, but a thaw has begun and now might be an excellent time for middle-market companies with strong financials to consider borrowing from banks.

"There are several instances of healthy regional banks buying the core deposits of failed or troubled thrifts and commercial banks," explains Sharon Haas, a …