We show that the steep decline in traditional bank mortgage lending after the crisis was primarily driven by a widespread withdrawal by the four largest U.S. banks (Big4). In contrast, small banks maintain their aggregate share in this market despite rapid nonbank growth throughout the country....

As opposed to the public debt market, the ultimate users of bank loan ratings, lenders, may prefer inflated ratings to reduce their risk-weighted assets. By exploiting variation in borrower information asymmetry, and thus rating agencies' ability to acquiesce to lender demands, we provide...

Using natural disasters as shocks to local economies, we document that a bank branch's ability to set deposit rates locally has real effects. Following disasters, branches that set rates locally increase deposit rates more and experience higher deposit volumes in affected counties. Consistent...

While executive compensation is often blamed for the excessive risk taking by banks, little is known about the operating performance incentives used in the finance industry both prior to and subsequent to the recent crisis. We provide a comprehensive analysis of incentive design -- the link of...