In the US bank savings deposits rose by $246bn to $4,343bn (a record) in the nine weeks to March 9, according to data from the Fed.
$246bn in 9 weeks is more than the whole of 2008, when savings deposits rose by $229bn.
We must get the banks lending again sounds rather hollow - certainly from a retail savings perspective.
What is happening today is not simply a "crunch" which can be unblocked with government policy. We are witnessing a generational change in attitudes to money and to debt. Children will remember the worry and stresses they see their parents going through and will not be as enthusiastic to put it on the plastic.
A new frugality is coming.

Deep breath... step back... analyse.

Three times a single salary is a sensible amount to borrow on a house. Interest rates change with time, governments change, jobs change. A lot of things change in the 25 years that it takes to pay off a mortgage. A conservative 3 times salary has been shown to be a solid base for sensible mortgage lending - though in the 80s the interest rates may have put borrowers on a 3x multiple under strain.

So - what does the former president of National Association of Estate Agents say to a proposed cap on lending multiples?

Any move to further restrict mortgage lending would add insult to injury," said Trevor Kent, a former president of the National Association of Estate Agents.It would be suicidal and cause property prices to come down yet further. Lenders are already reluctant to lend, and this would give them an excuse to put up another hurdle, stopping buyers getting access to finance."

Self serving nonsense.

Suicidal describes 125% mortgages

and 6x multiples. Repossession

and months of worry for over leveraged householders is painful.

Estate agents should spare us the bleating.

US Bureau of Economic Analysis "Personal Income and Outlays" report for Jan 09 is out.

The personal savings rate at 5% is the highest since March 1995. The political pressure is "to get the banks lending again".