While it is certainly true that stocks have done very well over the past four years, much of the bond fund inflows, over the same period, found their way into riskier credit-oriented assets.
The difference in lending may be due in part to the fact that bigger banks tend to have a client base that itself is bigger, more credit worthy and more export oriented.
Privately owned export-oriented factories have closed, the fresh credit has tended to go into speculative investments, and infrastructure spending takes time to ramp up.
This tendency of their customers to pay with greenbacks and resist bulging credit card debt also represents one big advantage for immigrant-oriented entrepreneurs.