This paper sheds new light on the value of relationship lending by studying whether, after Lehman's default, banks provided a steadier ‡ow of credit and charged lower interest rates, to those …rms they established a closer relation with. By exploiting the presence of multiple banking relationships, we are able to control for …rms'and banks'unobserved characteristics. Results show that credit growth has been higher if: i) the lending relation was longer; ii) the distance between the bank and the …rm shorter; iii) the bank held a larger share of total credit. Similarly, banks increased the cost of credit less to …rms they had a longer relation with and they were closer to. We also explore whether the e¤ect of relationship lending depended upon bank or …rm characteristics, or on the concentration of the local credit market. Finally, we test whether the e¤ect of relationship lending changed during the crisis with respect to a pre-crisis period.

No abstract

No abstract

The paper evaluates the impact of the guarantees provided by the Italian Fondo di Garanzia scheme on access to credit for small and medium enterprises. The study exploits the mechanism that assigns the guarantees, which is based on a scoring system to assess eligibility. By using regression discontinuity techniques, the paper finds that on the threshold between eligible and non-eligible firms, the program has a positive impact on bank loans to firms. However, the scheme has no impact on the interest rate charged by banks, and has a positive effect on the likelihood that a firm will become unable to repay its loans. The guaranteed loans were mostly used to finance working capital. Finally, the paper provides inference for firms far from the threshold.

No abstract