Throughout most of this nation’s history, usury laws and other interest rate restrictions have had little impact on credit flows. In recent years, however, such restrictions have interfered increasingly with credit markets. The restrictiveness of legal limits is being felt over wide areas, as a result of a rapid rise in market rates of interest to levels that are above ceilings set by usury laws and other government controls. These restrictions have been ameliorated, however, as maximum permissible rates payable by banks on deposits have been increased a number of times during the past decade when market rates exceeded their ceilings.