Morning Money Links: Loans stop getting tighter, but may not be easier; the $100-million Goldman bonus rumor; to get rich, stop acting like it

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--- The Fed says credit has stopped getting tighter: ‘Commercial banks generally ceased tightening standards on many loan types’ at the end of last year, the central bank’s new lending survey says. But that doesn’t mean that credit is easier. Banks “have yet to unwind the considerable tightening that has occurred over the past two years,” the survey says. Still, it’s some measure of progress. The full survey is here.

--- A $100-million bonus for Goldman Sachs’ Lloyd Blankfein? That’s the speculation in a Times of London story, which cited the chatter of unnamed bankers at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Felix Salmon, among others, thinks the rumor is ridiculous given the global outrage over banker payouts. Would it be a surprise if rivals were trying to further damage Goldman’s image? A Goldman spokesman told the Times: ‘Although the board has yet to detemine executive compensation, given everything we have said and done on the subject, the idea that the directors would award Lloyd Blankfein $100 million, or anything close to it, beggars belief.”

--- How Wells Fargo is betting on higher interest rates: The bank, unlike its major rivals, has cut back on the so-called carry trade of borrowing short-term to invest in longer-term bonds.

--- To get rich, stop acting like it: Michelle Singletary has a fresh take on the challenge of building real wealth versus living conspicuously in the moment. Unfortunately, the economy overall needs the rich pretenders now more than ever.

-- Tom Petruno