We document that a firm's culture — specifically, its religiosity — affects its cost of debt. Firms in higher-religiosity counties have higher credit ratings and lower debt costs. The impact of religiosity is stronger for firms with greater information asymmetry and during recessions....

The aim of the paper was to analyse the factors influencing European banks' credit ratings by taking into account the size of these institutions. A literature review onthe indicators that can impact bank notes has been made. As a result, the following hypotheses have beendrawn:banks' capital...