This paper analyzes the determinants of credit to medium-sized enterprises before and during the crisis in Italy. While the bank-enterprise relationship seems to be crucial in the granting of credit before the crisis of 2007, during the crisis the results show a greater virtuosity of firms...

We investigate two questions: (1) Do bank lending decisions to small and medium-sized firms provide information about these firms' future financial performance? (2) Does this predictability vary across different stages of the credit cycle? Based on a unique, detailed data set of all Norwegian...

We investigate two questions: (1) Do bank lending decisions to small and medium-sized firms provide information about these fi rms' future fi nancial performance? (2) Does this predictability vary across different stages of the credit cycle? Based on a unique, detailed data set of all Norwegian...

We examine whether banks use soft information in their lending decisions. To overcome the problem of soft information measurement, we analyze whether publicly available variables that are correlated with the borrowers' credit quality are more significant in explaining the lending decisions of...

We examine the connection between the number of bank relationships and firms' performance using a unique data set on Italian small firms for which banks are a major source of financing. Our evidence indicates that return on equity and return on assets decrease as the number of bank relationships...

This study examines the effectiveness of bank recapitalization policies in Japan. Based on a careful reading of the “business revitalization plan” submitted by banks requesting government funds, we identify four primary goals of the capital injection plan in Japan: 1) to increase the bank...

Does emergency credit prevent long-term financial distress? We study the causal effects of government-provided recovery loans to small businesses following natural disasters. The rapid financial injection might enable viable firms to survive and grow or might hobble precarious firms with more...

Die Finanzierung über Bankkredite stellt in Deutschland die wichtigste Finanzierungsquelle für mittelständische Unternehmen dar. Aufgrund der zentralen Bedeutung der Bankfinanzierung, die z. T. zu einer enormen Abhängigkeit der Unternehmen von der Bank führt, stellt sich aus...