From Marketwatch:
The credit crunch may only be in its early stages and a bigger contraction in lending in coming months could have "serious implications" for the U.S. economy, Standard & Poor's Rating Services said Friday.Banks are replacing loans as they mature, but there's little net new loan growth, she noted."That could mean that the slowdown in lending is just an opening act, and a true credit crunch may yet take the stage," Azarchs warned.Banks are making fewer and fewer commitments to lend, and new issues of bonds and securitized assets have slowed to a trickle, the analyst said."This portends a contraction in total credit available in the coming months," she wrote. "Since this lack of lending may have serious implications for the economy, the U.S. government has been devising policies that would encourage banks to lend."
