We examine the impact of bank competition on firms' access to credit using a large panel of 900 banks matched to almost 60.000 firms across the euro area over the period 2010-2016. Results provide empirical support for the market power hypothesis whereby low inter-bank competition worsens firms'...

Analyzing the period 1988--2006, we document that banks that are active in strong housing markets increase mortgage lending and decrease commercial lending. Firms that borrow from these banks have significantly lower investment. This is especially pronounced for firms that are more capital...

We study how nonlisted firms trade off financial, real, and distributive uses of cash. We show that firms' marginal value of cash (MVC) affects the mix of external and internal finance used to absorb fluctuations in cash flows; in particular, high-MVC firms employ substantially more external...

This paper studies how access to bank lending differed between family and non-family firms in the 2007-2009 financial crisis. The theoretical prediction is that family block-holders' incentive structure results in lower agency conflict in the borrower-lender relationship. Using highly detailed...

Despite the importance of banks' role as delegated monitors, little is known about how non-price terms of loan contracts are structured to optimize information production in a lending relationship. Using a large sample of corporate loans, this paper examines the effect of relationship lending on...

We examine the factors that influence public firms' choice between project financing and corporate financing. Using a sample of 15,191 syndicated deals closed between 2000 and 2016, we find that economies of scale, agency costs of debt, and information asymmetry arguments affect the choice of...

The recent financial crisis has induced firms to turn increasingly to financing sources other than bank credit, and banks to boost their income from non-lending services. This paper provides some evidence concerning possibility and convenience for Italian banks to expand the supply of financial...

Using a sample of bank loans, we study how financial contracts are different when there are conflicts of interest not only between the contracting parties but within one of the contracting parties. Such conflicts can arise in lending syndicates when, for instance, the lead arranger has the...

We study the effects of the diversification of funding sources on the financing conditions for firms. We exploit a regulatory reform which took place in Italy in 2012, i.e., the introduction of “minibonds”, which opened a new market-based funding opportunity for unlisted firms. Using the...

This paper examines the pricing of project finance (PF) and non-project finance (non-PF) loans and examines the factors that influence the borrower's choice between project financing and corporate financing. Using a sample of 210,273 syndicated loans closed between 2000 and 2014, we find that PF...