Celebrity analyst Meredith Whitney (Meredith Whitney news) says there's still a lot of credit contraction in the works. She estimates that banks and lenders will pull $2.7 trillion in outstanding consumer credit lines by the end of next year. That translates into less credit for small businesses and consumers, who just might turn to alternatives that charge heavy fees and jacked up interest rates. She sees this as an unintended consequence of reform.

Fortune notes an example: New rules state that "credit card companies must give customers a 60-day warning before raising interest rates has caused particular consternation among lenders. If banks can't instantly raise rates on the customers their computers say are more likely to default, they simply stop lending en masse." We'll have to see how all this plays out. There may indeed be cases where risk management translates into less credit. For the would-be borrower that's a bad thing. But for the bank it may be the wise move. 

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