Most of us would assume that in any period of credit tightening, small companies, which tend to be more volatile, suffer most. But a recent Fed lending survey shows that 95 percent of banks have tightened credit for big companies but only 90 percent have tightened for small companies.

The Financial Times notes the same is holding true for Europe. Large companies, multinationals especially, are perceived as being in a very tough spot. Banks may also be cluing into the CDS market, which shows a lot of default risk still out there. Or perhaps banks are feeling more comfortable making smaller bets closer to home. None of this will make small companies feel all that much better about their situations. Traditionally, they've gotten the short-end of the stick when it comes to credit terms.

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