The Distribution of Crisis Credit : Effects on Firm Indebtedness and Aggregate Risk
This paper studies the distribution of credit during crisis times and its impact on firm indebtedness and macroeconomic risk. Whereas policies can help firms in need of financing, they can lead to adverse selection from riskier firms and higher default...
Main Authors: | , , , , |
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Format: | Policy Research Working Paper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Washington, DC: World Bank
2022
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Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/874031644864101145/The-Distribution-of-Crisis-Credit-Effects-on-Firm-Indebtedness-and-Aggregate-Risk http://hdl.handle.net/10986/37013 |
Summary: | This paper studies the distribution
of credit during crisis times and its impact on firm
indebtedness and macroeconomic risk. Whereas policies can
help firms in need of financing, they can lead to adverse
selection from riskier firms and higher default risk. The
paper analyzes a large-scale program of public credit
guarantees in Chile during the COVID-19 pandemic using
unique transaction-level data on the demand and supply of
credit, matched with administrative tax data, for the
universe of banks and firms. Credit demand channels loans
toward riskier firms, distributing 4.6 percent of gross
domestic product and increasing firm leverage. Despite
increased lending to riskier firms, macroeconomic risks
remain small. Several factors mitigate aggregate risk: the
small weight of riskier firms, the exclusion of the riskiest
firms, bank screening, contained expected defaults, and the
government absorption of tail risk. The empirical findings
are confirmed with a model of heterogeneous firms and
endogenous default. |
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