Loan Loss Measurement and Bank Lending

I use both theoretical and empirical models to assess how alternative measurement approaches to banks’ loan loss allowances affect lending when banks are subject to regulatory capital requirements. I find that: (1) the Current Expected Credit Loss (CECL) method increases loan loss reserves on average by 16% relative to the Incurred Credit Loss (ICL) method; (2) the difference between CECL loan loss allowances and ICL loan loss allowances is larger in economic downturns than upswings; (3) banks reduce lending on average by 3.15% (50 basis points) when switching from ICL to CECL; and (4) CECL results in less procyclical lending than ICL, specifically, the difference between lending in up- vs. downturns decreases by 0.8% (37 basis points) when moving from ICL to CECL.