Small business lending under the PPP and PPPLF programs

We use Call Report data to examine the effects of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the PPP Liquidity Facility (PPPLF) on small business and farm lending by individual commercial banks. As program participation was associated with small business lending, we adopt an instrumental variables approach to identify causal implications based on historical bank relationships with the Small Business Administration and the Federal Reserve’s discount window. Our results indicate that both programs encouraged lending growth over the first half of 2020. However, while the PPP encouraged greater lending across all banks, only small and medium-sized bank lending growth was significantly related to participation in the PPPLF.     

Community bank mergers and their impact on small business lending

There have been increasing concerns about the potential of larger banks acquiring community banks and the declining number of community banks, which would significantly reduce small business lending (SBL) and disrupt relationship lending. This paper examines the roles and characteristics of U.S. community banks in the past decade, covering the recent economic boom and downturn. We analyze risk characteristics of acquired community banks, compare pre- and post-acquisition performance, and investigate how the acquisitions have affected SBL. Contrary to the concerns, our analysis shows that the overall amount of SBL increases more after a merger when a community bank is acquired by a large bank. Data also suggest an overall (regardless of mergers) declining SBL trend for all bank size groups. In fact, the decline in the SBL ratio, on average, has been more severe among community banks, relative to large banks. Our results indicate that mergers involving community bank targets over the past decade have enhanced the overall safety and soundness of the banking system without adversely impacting SBL.     

Credit supply conditions and business cycles: New evidence from bank lending survey data

In this study, we utilize an Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model in order to investigate the impact of changing lending standards on aggregate economic activity, considering the period 2000–2017 and five major economies, that is, Canada, Germany, Japan, the UK, and the US. We capture lending conditions using bank lending survey data that help extract the credit-supply side of the shock and, thus, direct the focus onto loan supply-factors. The main findings document that shocks associated with changes in lending standards play a substantial role in determining changes in real economic activity within each country. It should also be noted that these results remain robust even when we consider a structural break in our data and investigate these effects separately for the period immediately after the outbreak of the Global Financial Crisis of 2007−09. Overall, the findings suggest that bank lending survey data provide important informational content and deepen our understanding regarding changes in real economic activity. On a final note, we provide further insights regarding the relationship of both price and non-price elements of bank lending, particularly considering the risk-taking channel of monetary policy.     

The influencing factors of satisfaction and lending intention in online lending investment: an empirical study based on the Chinese market

This paper develops a platform‐based influencing factors model which considers value perception, risk prevention measure, non‐default experience, trust and incentive gap, to better examine the impact of platforms on investors’ satisfaction and lending intention based on the Chinese market. The results reveal that the first four factors positively influence the satisfaction of the investors, while the incentive gap has a negative impact, and there is a positive association between investors’ satisfaction and lending intention. Some specific features of China’s online lending market are identified, which provides valuable insights for online lending platforms and the government.     

A darker side to decentralized banks: Market power and credit rationing in SME lending

We use loan-level data to study how the organizational structure of banks impacts small business lending. We find that decentralized banks—where branch managers have greater autonomy over lending decisions—give larger loans to small firms and those with “soft information.” However, decentralized banks are also more responsive to their own competitive environment. They are more likely to expand credit when faced with competition but also cherry pick customers and restrict credit when they have market power. This “darker side” to decentralized banks in concentrated markets highlights that the level of local banking competition is key to determining which organizational structure provides better lending terms for small businesses.     

The ties that bind: Bank relationships and small business lending

The importance of bank relationships for small firms’ ability to raise external finance is well-documented, yet the mechanism through which relationships improve access to capital markets has received little empirical attention. This paper uses hand-collected, proprietary data from a mid-sized bank in the United States to identify the channels that strengthen the relationship between a small business and its bank. In contrast to earlier work that focuses on the role of relationships in alleviating information and incentive problems in lending, I find that the source of value in relationship banking is not limited to enhanced monitoring. Exploiting a unique feature of this dataset, I examine two channels of relationship strength that directly measure the stream of non-lending profits generated from (1) the non-credit services cross-sold to the borrower, and (2) the additional bank clients referred by the borrower. I document that non-lending profitability empirically determines the risk-adjusted terms of lending. In models of loan price that already include both the bank’s proprietary risk rating and traditional risk proxies, non-lending profits significantly improve explanatory power and account for up to half of the total explained variation. Conditional on risk profile, a one-standard deviation increase in aggregate non-lending profits lowers the loan interest rate by 32 basis points and increases access to credit by 26%.     

Assessing targeted macroprudential financial regulation: The case of the 2006 commercial real estate guidance for banks

In January 2006, federal regulators issued guidance requiring banks with specific high concentrations of commercial real estate (CRE) loans to tighten managerial controls. This paper shows that banks with concentrations in excess of the thresholds set in the guidance subsequently experienced slower growth in their CRE portfolios than can be explained by changes in bank or economic conditions. Moreover, banks above the CRE thresholds tended to have slower commercial and industrial loan growth but faster household loan growth following issuance of the guidance. The results highlight the potentially broad influence that portfolio-based macroprudential regulation might have on bank behavior.     

Bank lending in Switzerland: Driven by business models and exposed to uncertainty

We study the bank lending channel in Switzerland over three decades using unbalanced quarterly bank-individual data spanning 1987 to 2016. We take an agnostic stance on which bank characteristic drives the heterogeneous lending responses to interest rate changes, and estimate the relevant classification of banks. In addition, our empirical model allows for within-group regime-specific lending responses, determined by a latent, estimated state indicator. No single bank characteristic identifies clearly the relevant classification of banks, as several characteristics determining banks’ business models underlie banks’ heterogeneous lending responses. The bank lending channel does not prevail continuously over the observation period. The overall negative effect of interest rate changes on loan growth is partly muted during periods when uncertainty is unusually low or high.     

Bank ownership and credit over the business cycle: Is lending by state banks less procyclical?

This paper finds that lending by state banks is less procyclical than lending by private banks, especially in countries with good governance. Lending by state banks in high income countries is even countercyclical. On the liability side, state banks expand their total liabilities and, in particular, their non-deposit liabilities relatively little during booms. Public banks also report loan non-performance more evenly over the business cycle. Overall our results suggest that state banks can play a useful role in stabilizing credit over the business cycle as well as during periods of financial instability. However, the track record of state banks in credit allocation remains quite poor, questioning the wisdom of using state banks as a short term countercyclical tool.     

Overbuilding,real estate lending decisions,and the regional economic base

The primary purpose of this paper is to evaluate the causes of overbuilding in the context of economic base theory. A second and closely related purpose is to determine if the economic base multiplier effect is stronger in the long run. Construction decisions depend on the strength of the local economy. Since basic activity is highly cyclical, if there are significant lags in the multiplier process running from basic to nonbasic sectors, then growth in non-basic employment will continue when the basic sector slows or declines. Hence, overbuilding may be, in part, a result of false signals about future growth in the local economy to builders, developers and lenders at the time a project is conceived. In addition, one of the important sources of the lags in the multiplier process is the construction sector. Potential solutions to overbuilding are discussed in an economic base context. The implications for bank regulation, bank lending and feasibility analysis are discussed.     

Bank-to-bank lending channel and the transmission of bank liquidity shocks: Evidence from France

Good liquidity is essential for the banking system to function properly and supply credit to the real sector. However, several banks all over the world face large shocks to their liquidity supply due to numerous factors. This study contributes to the literature on the transmission of liquidity shocks by investigating the bank-to-bank lending behavior of French banks during the global financial crisis (2008 and 2009). In addition, we examine the factors strongly influencing the liquidity of the interbank deposits market. First, using a fixed-effects model on a sample of 85 French banks for the period from 2005 to 2010, we find that the deposits channel plays an important role in the transmission of liquidity shocks across the banking system. Second, we use difference-in-difference methodology to study the effects of liquidity shock on bank lending. Our results show that French banks reduced their bank-to-bank lending significantly during the financial crisis period. Moreover, our results suggest that the reduction could have been due to deposit activities.     

从国开行的统贷模式探讨中小企业融资难题

中国中小企业的组织形式、企业规模等因素,决定了股票和债券市场不可能成为其有效的融资渠道。没有足够的可抵押资产及相应的担保更无法获得银行贷款。国家开发银行开创性的创造出了一个开放性的融资体系。这个融资体系包括一个向中小企业提供贷款的平台和一个为贷款提供担保的平台。这种开放式融资体系中的贷款模式有效的破解了中小企业融资市场中的规模难题、软信息难题及担保难题,为商业银行提供了有效借鉴。     

Sovereign risk and the bank lending channel in Europe

The main purpose of this article is to analyze how sovereign risk influences the loan supply reaction of banks to monetary policy through the bank lending channel. Additionally, we aim to test whether this reaction differs in easy and tight monetary regimes. Using a sample of 3125 banks from the euro zone between 1999 and 2012, we find that sovereign risk plays an important role in determining loan supply from banks during tight monetary regimes. Banks in higher sovereign risk countries reduce lending more during tight regimes. However, we find little evidence to support any relationship between sovereign risk and loan supply reaction to monetary policy expansions. These results are very interesting for the way monetary policy is conducted in Europe. Banking union, banking system strength, and the budget control of governments would be necessary measures to reduce the heterogeneous transmission of the monetary policy in the euro zone.     

Market conditions,risk, and real estate portfolio returns: Some empirical evidence

This research examined the return behavior of a portfolio of American and New York Stock Exchange real estate firms. A dummy variable procedure was used to test for excess return and/or change in risk behavior across market conditions. The findings were as follows. First, no excess return was found for any model specification. Second, no changes in beta were found using the benchmark approach. The beta shifted when an up market was defined as a nonrecessionary period; the beta behaved procyclically. However, the subperiod tests indicated that effect was transitory and period specific.     

Intermediate inputs and sectoral comovement in the business cycle

The post-war US business cycle is characterized by positive comovement of employment and output across sectors. It has been argued that multi-sector growth models are inconsistent with this observation when changes in relative productivities are the main source of fluctuations. We suggest that the input-output structure of an economy, in particular the pervasive use of intermediate inputs, can induce positive comovement in sectoral employment and output following changes in relative productivities. We calibrate a model of the US economy for the durable and nondurable goods producing sectors, and show that sectoral employment and output move together if intermediate inputs are used in production. The model is also consistent with the observation that the relative price of nondurable goods is procyclical.     

The institutional memory hypothesis and the procyclicality of bank lending behavior

We test a new hypothesis that may help explain the procyclicality of bank lending. The institutional memory hypothesis is driven by deterioration in the ability of loan officers over the bank's lending cycle that results in an easing of credit standards. We test this hypothesis using data from individual US banks over 1980–2000: over 200,000 bank-level observations on commercial loan growth, over 2,000,000 loan-level observations on interest rate premiums, and over 2000 bank-level observations on credit standards and loan spreads from bank management survey responses. The empirical analysis supports the hypothesis, although there are differences by bank size class.     

Mortgage Put Options and Real Estate Markets

In this paper we offer direct evidence that financial intermediation does impact underlying asset markets. We develop a specific observable symptom of a banking system that underprices the put option imbedded in non-recourse asset-backed lending. Using a dataset for 19 countries and over 500 real estate investment trusts, we find that, following a negative demand shock, the “underpricing” economies experience far deeper asset market crashes than economies in which the put option is correctly priced.

Supply of bank loans and business debts: A view from historical bankruptcy cases

As bank loans fell in the 2008 crisis, business bankruptcy increased. To study how bank loans affect business balance sheets and bankruptcy, we use new data on bankrupt businesses in Missouri between 1898 and 1942. We confirm that when banks curtail loans, courts see more bankruptcies among businesses with high exposure to bank debt. To reduce real volatility, policy‐makers can set tough bank liquidity requirements in the upswing of business cycle but allow weaker requirements in the downswing. We also find that between 1914 and 1933, businesses in St. Louis were more sensitive to changes in bank loans than businesses in Kansas City, probably due to the tight monetary policy conducted by the conservative St. Louis Fed. The Glass‐Steagall Act weakened the relationship between bank loans and business debt structure. The takeaway is that lender‐of‐last‐resort practices stabilize both the financial sector and the real economy.     

On the real estate market efficiency

This reseach reexamines the efficiency hypothesis of the real estate market using monthly data and the vector autoregressive (VAR) modelling technique. The tests focus on the causal linkage between real estate returns and a number of relevant financial and economic variables. An eight-by-eight VAR model is estimated using the FPE and the specific gravity criteria, in conjunction with an extensive series of specification tests. The empirical results distilled from system estimations suggest that the real estate market is efficient with respect to available information on the industrial production, the risk premia, the term structure of interest rates, and the monetary base. Movements in these variables are quickly and fully utilized by market agents, perhaps owing to the intensity with which their relationship with stock returns has been discussed in the literature and the popular media. However, the results also suggest the presence of a significant lagged relationship between real estate returns and fiscal policy moves, even when the paths through other potential determinants of these returns are taken into account. Of course, our finding that the fiscal policy measure is useful in predicting stock returns does not necessarily imply that the real estate market is inefficient. At a minimum, inefficiency is revealed only if a careful analysis of the budgetary process can help design a profitable (exploitable) trading strategy.     

“小银行优势”的理论突破与实践新进展

传统的理论观点认为小银行在中小企业信贷方面具有比较优势,并且主要依赖关系信贷技术,而大银行在开展中小企业信贷方面,存在着信息不对称、组织规模不利于软信息传递等方面的劣势。但近年来的理论与实践置疑传统观点的正确性。学术界认为,实施新资本协议、信贷技术的提升以及大型银行的优势,使得其开展中小企业信贷将比中小银行更具有优势。在中小企业信贷的国际实践中,新加坡淡马锡、美国富国银行、印尼金融银行等大型金融机构以及美国硅谷银行、孟加拉格莱珉银行等中小银行在中小企业信贷方面已经获得巨大的发展,并已形成各具特色的业务模式。中国银行业已经开始重视中小企业信贷业务的发展,可以从中学习与借鉴国外银行业的发展经验。