Business lending by banks is on the upswing here. (Puget Sound, Washington)

Bank business lending here and nationally is swinging up as the economy improves and corporate cash no longer suffices to finance inventory and equipment.

For this year's second quarter, total business loans among banks in Washington were up 5.6 percent from the same period in 1993, compared with a 4.8 percent increase nationally, reports the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.

Countrywide, commercial and industrial loan totals surged upward at a 13.1 percent annualized rate during the first nine months of this year, the bank said.

Commercial and industrial loans at some 140 large banks across the country are up over $27 billion since year-end 1993.

Local bankers pretty …