Jeffrey Haley, the CEO of American National Bank and Trust Company, saw the crunch coming at the start of 2023.
Rising interest rates and a slowing economy to him meant that loan growth would likely fall by half as the Danville, Virginia-based community bank turned its focus to better-quality, higher-yielding credit, worrying little about volume.
Then a pair of U.S. regional banks abruptly failed in mid-March. Instinct told him things would tighten further, with loan growth plunging to perhaps a quarter of what it was in 2022, when his bank’s loan book grew by 13% to around $2.1 billion.
Source : Signs of Credit Crunch that the Fed Fears May Already Be Emerging