We analyze the effectiveness of consumer financial regulation by considering the 2009 Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure (CARD) Act in the United States. Using a difference-in- differences research design and a unique panel data set covering over 160 million credit card...

We analyze the effectiveness of consumer financial regulation by considering the 2009 Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure (CARD) Act. We use a panel data set covering 160 million credit card accounts and a difference-in-differences research design that compares changes in...

Policy makers are increasingly turning to regulation to reduce hidden or nonsalient fees. Yet the overall consumer benefits from these policies are uncertain because firms may increase other prices to offset lost fee revenue. We show that the extent to which firms offset reduced hidden-fee...

In this paper, we examine how reinstated (i.e., re-aged) credit card accounts are likely to default again. Our sample data reveal that about 22% of the re-aged accounts default again, mostly in the first 24 months after reinstatement. We also find that a FICO score (public information) is a...

We analyze more than 108,000 home equity loans and lines of credits to study the role of information asymmetry in a credit market where borrowers face a menu of contract options and a lender uses a counteroffer to further mitigate contract frictions. Our results reveal that a less credit-worthy...

This paper investigates Japanese banks' earnings management behavior under three distinct economic environments: (1) high-growth with asset price bubble economy (1985-1990); (2) stagnant growth with financial distress economy (1991-1996); and (3) severe recession with credit crunch economy...

Given the growth in home equity lending during the 1990s, it is imperative that lenders and regulators understand the risks associated with this segment of the residential mortgage market. This paper addresses this need through analysis of a unique panel data set of over 135,000 homeowners with...

Bank lending is an important source of funding for firms. Most loans are in the form of credit lines. Empirical studies of line demand have been complicated by their use of data on publicly traded firms, which have a wide menu of financing options. We avoid this problem by using a unique...

In this paper, we empirically assess the importance of various credit risk characteristics in determining default behavior of more than 31,000 small business loans and lines both under $100K and between $100K-$250K. Overall, our results indicate that the main drivers of small business default...

Information revelation can occur in a variety of ways. For example, in the home mortgage market, borrowers reveal their expected house tenure through their choice of mortgage contracts. As a result, lenders offer a menu of mortgage interest rate and point combinations in an effort to learn...