We exploit variation in the timing of bank mergers and acquisitions (M&As) and adopt a difference- in-differences approach to examine how bank consolidation affects financial policies of corporate borrowers. We find that firms increase leverage ratios after their lending banks are involved in...

We build a model of investment and financing decisions to study the choice between bonds and bank loans in a firm's marginal financing decision and its effects on corporate investment. We show that firms with more growth options, higher bargaining power in default, operating in more competitive...