The banking crisis overflows into the real economy

If you thought the banking crisis wouldn’t affect the whole economy, you may think again, as already companies are feeling what this crisis means to them; loans are becoming more difficult to obtain and the costs of finance are getting higher for most of the borrowers.
Not only banks are making it more difficult for companies to survive; important customers are paying later whereas suppliers aren’t willing to wait very long for their money.
However, there are some good consequences too; banks are more aware of the risks they are taking when lending, say, ten times a company’s capital. Therefore, they will only lend companies up to two or three times their capital, so that most of them will be able to pay off the debts.

source: http://www.economist.com/research/articlesBySubject/displaystory.cfm?subjectid=348885&story_id=12381942

Liesbeth Cosyn