, Columnist
The Financial System's Weak Link: Zombie Firms
Failing companies need not be a problem if banks are sound.
Living beyond their means.
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Whether you think of subprime mortgages or auto loans, there is little doubt that consumers were the symbol of the 2008 financial crisis. Since then, households have gone through a painful process of deleveraging, as central banks kept interest rates at rock bottom to help them pay back their debts.
The same isn't true for companies. As monetary authorities edge closer to a world of higher borrowing costs, some fear that companies rather than consumers are planting the seeds of the next crisis.