"Bank cramp"

Forget the "credit crunch". There's a much better phrase to describe the predicament of the world's financial institutions.

My wife and I last night went out for dinner at the excellent Lasan with a couple of Spanish lecturers who are involved with the course my wife runs at BCU.

One used the wonderful phrase "bank cramp" when struggling to find the right words to describe the current situation.

Somehow I can't get rid of the mental image of Alistair Darling, physio's bag and wet sponge in hand, rushing into RSB's board room and vigorously massagng the seized-up limbs of the chief executive.