Syndicated lending by Australian banks fell by around half during the March 2008 quarter, in one measure of the restricted availability of corporate credit since the global credit crunch emerged in mid 2007.The Bank for International Settlements estimated the level of syndicated lending by Australian banks at US$10.7 billion during the March 2008 quarter, down from US$21.9 billion during the December 2007 quarter.The BIS reported an average level of syndicated lending by banks of US$21.4 billion each quarter during 2007, and an aggregate of US$85.5 billion over calendar 2007.For all developed markets the BIS said syndicated lending fell to US$279 billion in the March quarter down from US$435 billion in the December 2007 quarter and US$1.68 trillion over calendar 2007.While Australian banks were cautious on their corporate lending, they were busy incurring liabilities in their own right.March 2008 was a very big quarter for Australian banks selling debt securities into offshore markets. The BIS estimated Australian banks sold a net US$41.9 million in debt securities during the quarter. This level over a single quarter is equal to two thirds of the 2007 aggregate of US$63.4 billion and half the 2006 aggregate of US$89.7 billion.Sale of debt securities by Australian non-bank corporates were minimal during the quarter at US$600 million. Corporates sold US$6.4 billion in offshore debt during 2007 and US$3.5 billion of debt in 2006.