LONDON — Financial markets all round the world, from New York to London to Tokyo, have been rattled by the recent squeeze on credit and lending, which originated in the United States. All kinds of lessons have been drawn from the experience, many of which boil down to the simple adage that dubious long-term housing loans to those who may never be able to pay interest on them, let alone pay back the capital, should be avoided. But a further aspect of the whole drama deserves comment, and this concerns the matter of trust in institutions and authorities.
In the British case the crisis took the form of an alarming and sudden "run" on the country's fifth-largest mortgage bank, Northern Rock, which had been offering generous rates of interest to all who could be persuaded to deposit money with it, and re-lending it many times over to home-buyers on very favorable terms.
When suddenly its usual lines of credit and sources of funds dried up, and lenders everywhere grew ultra-nervous about extending credit to anyone, including each other, Northern Rock turned to the Bank of England to help it meet, or at least stand behind, its obligations and promises, and allow it to carry on with its attractive lending activities to homeowners.