'Dr. Doom' economist Nouriel Roubini warns US regional banks will 'certainly' face a credit crunch

• "Dr. Doom" economist Nouriel Roubini said US regional banks will "certainly" face a credit crunch.
• "There will be certainly some credit crunch especially among regional banks, those are the ones that are squeezed," he said.

US regional banks are 'certainly' going to face a credit crunch - and that will erode growth in the world's largest economy, according to "Dr. Doom" economist Nouriel Roubini.

"There will be certainly some credit crunch, especially among regional banks. Those are the ones that are squeezed," Roubini told Bloomberg Wednesday during the Qatar Economic Forum in Doha.

"Those are the banks that lend a lot to households, to small businesses and medium-sized enterprises, and commercial real estate. Estimates as of now is that, that credit crunch is going to reduce economic growth in the US by at least 50 basis points," the economist said.

Fears of a credit squeeze have risen as banks tightened lending standards - to iron out asset-liability mismatches and protect balance sheets - following the failures of multiple US lenders in recent months. Morgan Stanley's top stock strategist cited lending data last month to suggest that the loan crunch had already begun.

"If there are other headwinds for the global economy, you could see in the second half of the year, outright contraction in the United States," Roubini added.

Roubini has previously sounded the alarm on a US credit crunch, saying a "good chunk of the US banking system" will face a "serious" squeeze, tipping the economy into recession, he added.