Borrowers under water! Rare disasters, regional banks, and recovery lending

B-Tier
Journal: Journal of Financial Intermediation
Year: 2020
Volume: 43
Issue: C

Authors (3)

Koetter, Michael (Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaf...) Noth, Felix (not in RePEc) Rehbein, Oliver (not in RePEc)

Score contribution per author:

0.670 = (α=2.01 / 3 authors) × 1.0x B-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

We show that local banks provide corporate recovery lending to firms affected by adverse regional macro shocks. Banks that reside in counties unaffected by the natural disaster that we specify as macro shock increase lending to firms inside affected counties by 3%. Firms domiciled in flooded counties, in turn, increase corporate borrowing by 16% if they are connected to banks in unaffected counties. We find no indication that recovery lending entails excessive risk-taking or rent-seeking. However, within the group of shock-exposed banks, those without access to geographically more diversified interbank markets exhibit more credit risk and less equity capital.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:eee:jfinin:v:43:y:2020:i:c:s1042957319300130
Journal Field
Finance
Author Count
3
Added to Database
2026-01-25