07444. AMERICAN BANKS AND THE RISK OF BAD DEBTS. Overview of the almost bank panic of 1982. Includes banking basics, long-term deterioration of capital/asset ratios in 1970s, banking shocks of 1982; Penn Square as an example of imprudent domestic lending; Mexico as an example of imprudent international lending; how panic was prevented, and corrective measures taken by bank regulators and bank managements to correct the situation. 9 pages, 13 footnotes, 13 bibliographic sources.