This paper analyzes the effects of bank mergers on bank firm relationships. Using matched bank-firm level data, I find that mergers disrupt lending relationships, specially to small borrowers of target banks. However, I find significant positive effects of mergers for borrowers that continue the...

This paper investigates whether small firms have experienced worse tightening of credit conditions during the Great Recession than large firms. To structure the empirical analysis, the paper first develops a simple model of bank loan pricing that derives both the interest rates on loans actually...

This paper investigates whether small firms have experienced worse tightening of credit conditions during the Great Recession than large firms. To structure the empirical analysis, the paper first develops a simple model of bank loan pricing that derives both the interest rates on loans actually...

Using a sample of distressed firms with information about suppliers, we document an average fall in the use of trade credit as firms approach bank-ruptcy compared to a control sample of non-bankrupt firms. However, we uncover a large degree of heterogeneity across suppliers. Suppliers facing...

Shocks to the financial sector led credit spreads to widen to unprecedented levels in many markets during the 2007-2008 financial crisis. The rise in spreads attracted attention because it could signal a disruption in financial markets, which has been widely linked to an increased burden on...

We develop a model of bank lending that allows for credit rationing in equilibrium. Recognizing that small firms incur a higher percentage cost of monitoring than large firms, the model shows that the incidence of bank credit rationing rises more for small firms than for large firms during...

Using a supplier-client matched sample, we study the effect of the 2007-2008 financial crisis on between-firm liquidity provision. Consistent with a causal effect of a negative shock to bank credit, we find that firms with high pre-crisis liquidity levels increased the trade credit extended to...

As Chari et al (2008) point out in a recent paper, aggregate trends are very hard to interpret. They examine four common claims about the impact of financial sector phenomena on the economy and conclude that all four claims are myths. We argue that to evaluate these popular claims, one needs to...