credit crunch

British  

noun

1. informal a period during which there is a sudden reduction in the availability of credit from banks and other lenders

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Example Sentences

He warns that a credit crunch or pullback in sentiment such as seen the early 2000s would see a lot of that spending by those companies drop fairly fast.

From MarketWatch

“I do not currently see the potential for private credit to contribute to an unexpected credit crunch in the same way that the asset-backed commercial paper market did in 2008,” she said.

From Barron's

That was more than double any other response, including fears of a possible credit crunch or a broadening of the wars in Ukraine or the Middle East.

From Seattle Times

The once-booming industry has been hit by a severe credit crunch, with some of the biggest firms now on the brink of financial collapse.

From BBC

That contrasts with Japan, where slumping property prices left banks nationwide with a huge pile of bad loans, causing a broad-based credit crunch that prolonged the economic downturn.

From Reuters