We evaluate the viability of credit default swaps (CDS) spreads as substitutes for credit ratings. We focus on CDS spreads based on the obligations of financial institutions, particularly fifteen large financial institutions that were prominently involved in the recent financial crisis. Our...

Our paper explores the influence of credit derivatives on bank credit supply theoretically and empirically. We build a two-stage model of financial intermediation, which treats the bank under consideration as one of a large number of monopolists in the local credit market. From the theoretical...

A large theoretical literature shows that competition reduces banks' franchise values and induces them to take more risk. Recent research contradicts this result: When banks charge lower rates, their borrowers have an incentive to choose safer investments, so they will in turn be safer. However,...

The policy debate surrounding predatory lending laws and the subprime mortgage market opposes two hypotheses. The first is that an efficient market is providing broader access to credit, offering mortgages with higher rates and fees to higher risk borrowers, and that prices relate directly to...

I develop a model in which a duopoly of credit rating agencies endogenously use issuers as messengers to find out each other's assessments before offering ratings. Information flows between rating agencies when (i) rating agencies' incentives are aligned due to both of their ratings being...

English Abstract: Financial liberalization accelerates global banks’ entry into new markets where host countries hope to spur investment and economic growth. However, banks sometimes retreat from their global ambitions and exit these new markets. This study demonstrates how difficulties of...

Pledging collateral to secure loans is a prominent feature in financing contracts around the world. Existing theories disagree on why borrowers pledge collateral. It is even more challenging to understand why in some countries collateral coverage exceeds, e.g., 300% of the value of a loan. This...

Leasing provides a fundamental source of firm funding, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises. A crucial difference from loans and bonds is that the lessor retains ownership rights of the leased asset during the lease term. This facilitates the asset utilization and work-out process...

The parameter loss given default (LGD) of loans plays a crucial role for risk-based decision making of banks including risk-adjusted pricing. Depending on the quality of the estimation of LGDs, banks can gain significant competitive advantage. For bank loans, the estimation is usually based on...