Seksan Mongkhonkhamsao/Getty Images
- US commercial and industrial lending slumped sharply this year, the chief economist at the Institute of International Finance said.
- Robin Brooks has called it a "staggering meltdown" – and warns a big slump in US investment is on its way.
- Credit flows have declined amid higher interest rates and tighter lending standards following this year's banking turmoil.
A slump in short-term credit flows to US businesses is underscoring growing risks to the world's largest economy, according to one economist.
Total commercial and industrial (C&I) lending shrank 1% year-to-date, compared with a 9.3% expansion during the same period last year, according to Robin Brooks, chief economist at the Institute of International Finance. The median growth for the comparable periods from 2010 to 2022 was 4.5%, according to him.