"Experts Warn of Impending Credit Crunch in US"
The banking turmoil of March will lead to a credit crunch for "small-town America," according to veteran strategist David Roche. The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and two other small U.S. lenders last month triggered contagion fears that led to record outflows of deposits from smaller banks. Roche argued that central banks are "trying to do two things at once" and predicted that this eventually results in credit tightening, with fear transmitting to major commercial banks that receive fleeing assets and "don't want to be caught up in a systemic crisis" and will be more cautious on lending.