debting n.— «Despite the hard lessons we’re now learning about the perils of credit, my guess is that when this crisis is over, be it in five years or around the time of the next ice age, we’ll go back to our debting ways. Why? For one...
floorplanning n.— «The move is intended to stimulate small business and consumer lending, which has dried up in the wake of the credit crisis. Most dealers finance their inventory—a process called floorplanning—through automakers or banks...
checkbook charity n.— «During good times, our donors have set aside significant charitable dollars, and now are able to tap those funds when they are needed most.…It demonstrates how donor advised funds can help people go beyond...
back up the truck v. phr.— «The safety of these securities caused financial firms to load upon on them (“back up the truck,” in Wall Street parlance). They were considered so safe that financial firms used borrowed funds to buy more, and...
mark to myth n.— «Banking auditors are watching carefully to ensure bank valuations based on in-house mathematical models are not, in the phrase coined by Warren Buffett, “mark to myth.” In the backwash of the credit crisis, U...