In the past 20 to 30 years, banks have gone from the major suppliers of credit at the heart of the financial system to just another supplier of credit, maybe accounting for a quarter to 20% instead of 60% or 70%.

FORBES: Magazine Article

Enron was a big supplier of credit insurance to these products, and, according to Charles Peabody of Ventana Capital, there will be many investors who thought they had protection who find they do not.

ECONOMIST: Enron's fall

France was neither a big supplier of international credit, like Germany or Japan, nor reliant on borrowing, like Spain, Britain or America.

ECONOMIST: The euro-area economy

And unlike America, Germany is a supplier of global credit: its current-account surplus was a hefty 7.7% of GDP last year, according to the OECD.

ECONOMIST: The euro-area economy

Likewise, ultra-lean supply chains no longer look like such a brilliant idea when you have to find cash to keep afloat a supplier that cannot get even basic trade credit.

ECONOMIST: Modern management

The industry watchdog said no major supplier had equalised prepayment meter charges with standard credit for both gas and electricity.

BBC: A pensioner by a heater

One way is to request a credit application (so dubbed because the supplier is essentially offering an unsecured loan): This sets the terms of the transaction and the procedures to deal with conflicts when they come up.

FORBES: Small Biz Bum Alert

The increased volume led to a large long-term contract, which the supplier was able to take to the bank and use to win more favorable credit terms.

WSJ: United They'll Stand

MBNA, a huge credit-card issuer, is launching such a system with Orbiscom, an Irish software supplier.

ECONOMIST: Paying online