Asymmetric information in securitization deals is analyzed based on a unique dataset comprising a million mortgages, both securitized and not, and using a methodology, previously applied to insurance data, that looks at the correlation between risk transfer and default probability. The main...

A growing number of studies on the US subprime market indicate that, due to asymmetric information, credit risk transfer activities have perverse effects on banks' lending standards. We investigate a large part of the market for securitized assets ("prime mortgages") in Italy, a country with a...

This paper presents the estimation of an econometric model for bank lending to households in Italy in the period 1984-2003. The model consists of two equations: loans for house purchase and other loans to households (typically consumer credit and loans in the current account). Both equations...

This paper combines qualitative information from the Eurosystem Bank Lending Survey with micro-data on loans for the participating Italian banks to assess the role of supply and demand factors in lending to enterprises developments, with a focus on the 2007-2009 financial crisis. Both demand and...

We investigate how the distance between banks and firms affect loan interest rates. To this aim, we use detailed information on more than 370,000 bank loans granted to firms by more than 120 Italian banking institutions (stand-alone banks and banking groups). We find that loan interest rates...

In order to verify whether a delegated monitor can certify its ability to perform its assigned tasks, we test whether syndicated loans in which a larger share of the facility is retained by the arranger have lower interest rates. For a large sample of syndicated loans in over 80 countries during...

This paper analyzes the effects of investment in information technologies (IT) in the financial sector using micro-data from a panel of 600 Italian banks over the period 1989-2000. Stochastic cost and profit functions are estimated allowing for individual banks' displacements from the best...