We find credit line drawdowns are an important source of long-term finance for capital expenditures and acquisitions for all but the highest rated firms. Unrated and to a lesser extent intermediate-rated firms draw down credit lines most frequently when capital market conditions are unfavorable....

Countercyclical bank capital requirements have emerged as a popular regulatory tool to help smooth financial cycles. The idea is to reduce capital requirements when exogenous shocks cause aggregate bank capital to decrease so that regulation does not needlessly constrain banks' supply of credit....