In 2015, 70% of newly-issued leveraged loans had weaker enforcement features, called covenant-light or "cov-lite;" this is nearly a three-time increase in cov-lite issuance compared to a previous peak in 2007. We evaluate whether this development can be attributed to market overheating, increased...

The decline in cash use and growing use of digital distribution for retail banking leads to a reduced need for bank branches. Lending to small and medium sized firms (SMEs) has not benefited as much from a digital transformation, and widespread branch closures may reduce their supply of credit....