We study the sensitivity of banks' credit supply to small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) in the UK to banks' financial condition before and during the financial crisis. Employing unique data on the geographical location of all bank branches in the UK, we connect firms' access to bank credit...

Using a novel way to identify relationship and transaction banks, we study how banks' lending techniques affect funding to SMEs over the business cycle. For 21 countries we link the lending techniques that banks use in the direct vicinity of firms to these firms' credit constraints at two...

Many countries offer state credit guarantee programs to improve access to finance for exporting firms. In the case of Germany, accumulated returns to the scheme deriving from risk-compensating premia have outweighed accumulated losses over the past 60 years. Why do private financial agents not...