Private information imposes a severe trading disadvantage on uninformed traders while at the same time providing firms with valuable signals for investment adjustment. The two forces have opposite impacts on the cost of capital, and the net effect depends on which force dominates. We show that...

We find a positive relation between the amount of pension deficits and the cost of bank loans. The effect of pension deficits on the costs of bank loans is driven by financial constraints, information asymmetry problems, and higher pension investment risk. Banks tighten lending terms for firms...

Banks produce short-term debt for transactions and storing value. The value of bank money must not vary over time so agents can easily trade this debt at par. This requires that no agent finds it profitable to produce costly private information about the bank's loans. To produce safe liquidity...