The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation says bank loans have seen their largest decline since the 1940s. On Tuesday, FDIC chair Sheila Bair said banks reduced lending by $587 billion, or 7.5 percent, in 2009. Bair singled out major large banks for the decline, urging them “to do a better job of stepping up to the plate.” Bair also says over 700 banks were deemed at risk of failure as of the end of 2009, more than double the number one year ago and the most since 1993.