The factory becomes the bank.

The article reports that the credit upheaval is pressuring Caterpillar Inc., Boeing Co. and other capital equipment makers to finance more loans for their customers, but rising interest rates threaten to keep some of those buyers on the sidelines. As the global credit crisis chokes banks' access to capital, the lending arms of old-line equipment manufacturers are financing a greater share of loans to help customers purchase their planes, tractors, bulldozers and delivery trucks.