The huge volume of bank bonds maturing in 2012 and the difficulties that banks were encountering in accessing capital markets prompted fears that they might be forced to dump assets, triggering a potentially systemic negative spiral between declining asset prices, tighter lending standards and deteriorating economic conditions, which would jeopardize financial and price stability.
Indeed, in the final part of 2011 the Eurosystem Bank Lending Survey signalled a sizeable tightening of lending conditions. There was the concrete risk of a ruinous credit crunch. 6.