The joint existence of a lender of last resort and of a stock market is usually considered the sign of a developed financial infrastructure. This paper analyzes whether a securities market may play a role similar to that of a lender of last resort by being of assistance to a bank, which faces possible liquidity shortages. We examine which of these two institutions best prevents a bank’s liquidi...

This paper proposes that bank runs are unique equilibrium outcomes instead of self-fulfilling prophecies. By assuming that depositors make their withdrawal decisions sequentially, the model provides an equilibrium-selection mechanism in the economy. A bank run would occur if and only if depositors perceive a low return on bank assets. Furthermore, a panic situation arises only when the market i...

Repayment versus Investment Conditions and Exclusivity in Lending Contracts Lenders condition future loans on some index of past performance. Typically, banks condition future loans on repayments of earlier obligations whilst international organizations (official lenders) condition future loans on the implementation of some policy action (‘investment’). We build an agency model that accounts fo...

Some researchers believe that there is only little difference between business and personal risks among small businesses. Personal assets and wealth can become subject to business risks depending on the organizational and legal structure chosen for the business. By the choice of the organizational and legal form the owner has a chance to increase the separation between the risks mentioned above...

We analyze the role of intermediaries on electronic markets using detailed data of more than 14,000 originated loans on an electronic P2P (person-to-person) lending platform. On such an electronic credit market lenders bid for supplying a private loan. Screening of potential borrowers and the monitoring of loan repayment can be delegated to designated group leaders. We find that these participa...

This paper examines the evolution of market structure in emerging markets during the 1990’s. While a significant process of bank consolidation has been taking place in these countries, reflected in a sharp decline in the number of banks, this process has not systematically been associated with increased concentration as measured by standard indices. Moreover, econometric estimates based on the ...

The paper studies an incentive contract in a monopolistic and duopolistic credit market where borrowers are different in risk. One lender is in an advantaged position with respect to the other due to past relations with the borrowers. The features of the equilibrium contract are investigated. It is shown that the equilibrium contract drastically changes between the monopolistic and the duopolis...

This paper identifies the effect of financing constraints on firms’ labor demand. We exploit exogenous funding shocks to German savings banks during the US mortgage crisis that are unrelated to local conditions. We find that firms with credit relationships with affected banks experienced a significant decline in employment and in labor compensation relative to firms whose credit relationships w...

Within institutional economics perspective of project finance, this paper empirically examines the potential influence of factors on debt capacity in project companies when financed through bankdominated financial systems with weak legal, regulatory and political institutions. The econometric results confirm that in order to capture the potential debt capacity of project companies financed thro...

Do low interest rate environments lead to greater bank risk-taking? We show that, when banks can adjust their capital structures, reductions in real interest rates lead to greater leverage and higher risk for any downward sloping loan demand function. However, if the capital structure is fixed, the effect depends on the degree of leverage: following a decrease in interest rates, well capitalize...