Private firms establish relationships with banks in local markets to obtain adequate financing for their operations through credit and loans. As major banks reduced their branch networks in recent years, many firms have lost access to their local bank. We evaluate the impact of a large number of...

We show that U.S. banks do not engage in zombie lending to firms of deteriorating profitability, irrespective of capital levels and exposure to such firms. In contrast, unregulated financial intermediaries do, originating more and cheaper loans to these firms. We establish these results using...

US Interstate bank deregulation during the 1980s and 1990s led to larger, nationally diversified banks, and a decline in the number of local community banks. Economic theory suggests that community banks may have a greater incentive, but a lower capacity, to lend to a region following a...

US Interstate bank deregulation during the 1980s and 1990s led to larger, nationally diversified banks, and a decline in the number of local community banks. Economic theory suggests that community banks may have a greater incentive, but a lower capacity, to lend to a region following a...

Using data on balance sheets of both financial and nonfinancial sectors of the economy, we use a "demand system" approach to study how lender composition and willingness to provide credit affect the relationship between credit expansions and real activity. A key advantage of jointly modeling the...

Private firms establish relationships with banks in local markets to obtain adequate financing for their operations through credit and loans. As major banks reduced their branch networks in recent years, many firms have lost access to their local bank. We evaluate the impact of a large number of...

We show that U.S. banks do not engage in zombie lending to firms of deteriorating profitability, irrespective of capital levels and exposure to such firms. In contrast, unregulated financial intermediaries do, originating more and cheaper loans to these firms. We establish these results using...

Using confidential microdata, we show that shocks to primary dealers' risk-bearing constraints have significant effects on the US Treasury securities market. In response to tighter constraints, dealers reduce their Treasury positions, triggering a reduction in aggregate turnover and an increase...

We study the effect of Department of Justice lawsuits in the 2010s against large lenders for alleged fraud in the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) mortgage insurance program. The suits led to more than $5 billion in settlements and caused targeted banks and their peers to precipitously exit...

The telegraph was introduced to China in the late 19th century, a time when China also saw the rise of modern banks. Based on this historical context, this paper documents the importance of information technology in banking development. We constructed a data set on the distributions of telegraph...