on their feet?

[AUTOMOON]

What does that part mean here?

Banks squandered credit to keep insolvent firms on their feet.

 

[mmasny]

Banks squandered credit to keep insolvent firms alive.
Banks squandered credit to keep insolvent firms working.

I am not a teacher.

 

[IHIVG]

It means that the bank spent money to make firms recover from insolvency.

 

[Barb_D]

I don't think it means that it saved them from insolvency.

By saying it was "squandered" it means it was wasted and the money didn't do what it was supposed to do.

Instead of letting the truly insolvent fail and using the money to help the ones that were struggling, it squandered the money on the firms that were hopelessly insolvent (and should have been allowed to fail) to stay alive a bit longer.

The other way to say this is that they threw good money after bad.

 

[AUTOMOON]

Thanks for your explations,everyone.

What does "they threw good money after bad"?:roll:

 

[IHIVG]

It's an idiom, meaning that you've made an investment/spent money on something that has failed or will not be successful. So your money is lost in vain.