And the cost to the supplier of immediate cash payment by the bank, in respect of the implicit interest rate or discount on the bill, ought to be tiny - because the bank is in effect lending to the safe big company, which ultimately honours the bill, not to the riskier supplier.

BBC: How business can bypass banks

The Bank of Japan's cut in its discount rate this week may have been aimed as much at helping the banks through this period as at supporting other central banks' easing.

ECONOMIST: Their condition only gets worse