credit crunch

credit crunch definition - business

credit crunch

A period during which borrowed funds are difficult to obtain and, even if funds can be found, interest rates are very high. Credit crunches were particularly severe before 1980, when the ceilings on interest rates that financial institutions could pay resulted in a drying up of deposits.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Business Terms Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Comments
Improve this definition.
Do you have more to add? Share your linguistic knowledge or observation.
/Register to save your comments.