IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/empfin/v46y2018icp191-209.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The number of bank relationships and borrowing costs: The role of information asymmetries

Author

Listed:
  • Bonfim, Diana
  • Dai, Qinglei
  • Franco, Francesco

Abstract

In a unique dataset that covers virtually all bank loans granted in Portugal, we find that when a firm borrows from one additional bank, the interest rate on bank loans for this firm decreases on average by 14 to 28 basis points. The result holds for small firms but not for larger firms. We test three theories that are consistent with this finding. More banks relationships may: (1) increase firms’ bargaining power, (2) decrease banks’ monitoring costs, (3) reduce asymmetric information between borrowers and lenders. We show that our empirical findings are neither consistent with the increase in firm bargaining power nor supportive of the decrease in banks’ monitoring costs. Our results are consistent with an important economic role of asymmetric information in the funding of small firms.

Suggested Citation

  • Bonfim, Diana & Dai, Qinglei & Franco, Francesco, 2018. "The number of bank relationships and borrowing costs: The role of information asymmetries," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 191-209.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:empfin:v:46:y:2018:i:c:p:191-209
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jempfin.2017.12.005
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0927539817301238
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jempfin.2017.12.005?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. D'Auria, Claudio & Foglia, Antonella & Reedtz, Paolo Marullo, 1999. "Bank interest rates and credit relationships in Italy," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 23(7), pages 1067-1093, July.
    2. Hans Degryse & Steven Ongena, 2005. "Distance, Lending Relationships, and Competition," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 60(1), pages 231-266, February.
    3. Beck, Thorsten & Demirguc-Kunt, Asli, 2006. "Small and medium-size enterprises: Access to finance as a growth constraint," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 30(11), pages 2931-2943, November.
    4. Diana Bonfim & Paula Antão, 2009. "Capital Structure decisions in the Portuguese corporate sector," Economic Bulletin and Financial Stability Report Articles and Banco de Portugal Economic Studies, Banco de Portugal, Economics and Research Department.
    5. Ongena, Steven & Tümer-Alkan, Günseli & Westernhagen, Natalja v., 2012. "Creditor concentration: An empirical investigation," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 56(4), pages 830-847.
    6. Enrica Detragiache & Paolo Garella & Luigi Guiso, 2000. "Multiple versus Single Banking Relationships: Theory and Evidence," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 55(3), pages 1133-1161, June.
    7. Carletti, Elena & Cerasi, Vittoria & Daltung, Sonja, 2007. "Multiple-bank lending: Diversification and free-riding in monitoring," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 16(3), pages 425-451, July.
    8. Sharpe, Steven A, 1990. "Asymmetric Information, Bank Lending, and Implicit Contracts: A Stylized Model of Customer Relationships," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 45(4), pages 1069-1087, September.
    9. N. Berger, Allen & F. Udell, Gregory, 1998. "The economics of small business finance: The roles of private equity and debt markets in the financial growth cycle," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 22(6-8), pages 613-673, August.
    10. Cerqueiro, Geraldo & Degryse, Hans & Ongena, Steven, 2011. "Rules versus discretion in loan rate setting," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 20(4), pages 503-529, October.
    11. Giannetti, Caterina, 2012. "Relationship lending and firm innovativeness," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 19(5), pages 762-781.
    12. Martin Brown & Christian Zehnder, 2007. "Credit Reporting, Relationship Banking, and Loan Repayment," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 39(8), pages 1883-1918, December.
    13. Bengt Holmstrom & Jean Tirole, 1997. "Financial Intermediation, Loanable Funds, and The Real Sector," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 112(3), pages 663-691.
    14. Fraser, Donald R. & Rhee, S. Ghon & Shin, G. Hwan, 2012. "The impact of capital market competition on relationship banking: Evidence from the Japanese experience," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 19(4), pages 411-426.
    15. M. Dewatripont & E. Maskin, 1995. "Credit and Efficiency in Centralized and Decentralized Economies," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 62(4), pages 541-555.
    16. Arnoud W. A. Boot & Anjan V. Thakor, 2000. "Can Relationship Banking Survive Competition?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 55(2), pages 679-713, April.
    17. Brown, Martin & Jappelli, Tullio & Pagano, Marco, 2009. "Information sharing and credit: Firm-level evidence from transition countries," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 18(2), pages 151-172, April.
    18. Farinha, Luisa A. & Santos, Joao A. C., 2002. "Switching from Single to Multiple Bank Lending Relationships: Determinants and Implications," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 11(2), pages 124-151, April.
    19. Miguel Boucinha & Nuno Ribeiro, 2008. "An Assessment of Competition in the Portuguese Banking System in the 1991-2004 Period," Economic Bulletin and Financial Stability Report Articles and Banco de Portugal Economic Studies, Banco de Portugal, Economics and Research Department.
    20. C. Conigliani & G. Ferri & A. Generale, 1997. "The impact of the bank-firm relations on the propagation of monetary policy squeezes: an empirical assessment for Italy," Banca Nazionale del Lavoro Quarterly Review, Banca Nazionale del Lavoro, vol. 50(202), pages 271-299.
    21. Bolton, Patrick & Scharfstein, David S, 1996. "Optimal Debt Structure and the Number of Creditors," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 104(1), pages 1-25, February.
    22. Mitchell A. Petersen & Raghuram G. Rajan, 1995. "The Effect of Credit Market Competition on Lending Relationships," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 110(2), pages 407-443.
    23. DeYoung, Robert & Glennon, Dennis & Nigro, Peter, 2008. "Borrower-lender distance, credit scoring, and loan performance: Evidence from informational-opaque small business borrowers," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 17(1), pages 113-143, January.
    24. Beck, Thorsten & Demirgüç-Kunt, Asli & Maksimovic, Vojislav, 2008. "Financing patterns around the world: Are small firms different?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(3), pages 467-487, September.
    25. Ferri, Giovanni & Messori, Marcello, 2000. "Bank-firm relationships and allocative efficiency in Northeastern and Central Italy and in the South," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 24(6), pages 1067-1095, June.
    26. Douglas W. Diamond, 1984. "Financial Intermediation and Delegated Monitoring," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 51(3), pages 393-414.
    27. Boot, Arnoud W. A., 2000. "Relationship Banking: What Do We Know?," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 9(1), pages 7-25, January.
    28. Vasso Ioannidou & Steven Ongena, 2010. "“Time for a Change”: Loan Conditions and Bank Behavior when Firms Switch Banks," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 65(5), pages 1847-1877, October.
    29. Petersen, Mitchell A & Rajan, Raghuram G, 1994. "The Benefits of Lending Relationships: Evidence from Small Business Data," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 49(1), pages 3-37, March.
    30. Rajan, Raghuram G, 1992. "Insiders and Outsiders: The Choice between Informed and Arm's-Length Debt," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 47(4), pages 1367-1400, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Anastasiya Shamshur & Laurent Weill, 2023. "Bank Risk and Firm Investment: Evidence from Firm-Level Data," Journal of Financial Services Research, Springer;Western Finance Association, vol. 63(1), pages 1-34, February.
    2. Patrick Behr & Lars Norden & Raquel Oliveira, 2020. "Labor and Finance: the effect of bank relationships," Working Papers Series 534, Central Bank of Brazil, Research Department.
    3. Diana Bonfim & Leonor Queiró & Luísa Farinha, 2021. "Heterogeneity in loan pricing: the role of bank capital," Economic Bulletin and Financial Stability Report Articles and Banco de Portugal Economic Studies, Banco de Portugal, Economics and Research Department.
    4. Jennifer Ifft & Todd H. Kuethe & Gregory Lyons & Alexander Schultz & John Y. Zhu, 2024. "Crop insurance's impact on commercial bank loan volumes: Theory and evidence," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 46(1), pages 318-337, March.
    5. Lucie Rudolfová, 2018. "The dependence of the costs of borrowed interest-bearing capital on the chosen financial variables [Závislost nákladů úročeného cizího kapitálu na vybraných finančních ukazatelích]," Český finanční a účetní časopis, Prague University of Economics and Business, vol. 2018(4), pages 51-69.
    6. Lucie Rudolfová, 2019. "Factor affecting the cost of borrowed capital from the perspective of the appraiser [Faktory ovlivňující výši nákladů cizího kapitálu z pohledu odhadce]," Český finanční a účetní časopis, Prague University of Economics and Business, vol. 2019(4), pages 15-30.
    7. Badarau, Cristina & Lapteacru, Ion, 2020. "Bank risk, competition and bank connectedness with firms: A literature review," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 51(C).
    8. Chan, Ann Ling-Ching & Hsieh, Yi-Ting & Lee, Edward & Yueh, Meng-Lan, 2024. "Information environment and participation of foreign banks in U.S. syndicated loan market," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Diana Bonfim & Qinglei Dai, 2009. "The Number of Bank Relationships, Borrowing Costs and Bank Competition," Working Papers w200912, Banco de Portugal, Economics and Research Department.
    2. Tlili, Rim, 2012. "Comment justifier la multibancarité au sein des PME ?," Economics Thesis from University Paris Dauphine, Paris Dauphine University, number 123456789/10919 edited by Etner, François.
    3. Doris Neuberger & Solvig Räthke, 2009. "Microenterprises and multiple bank relationships: The case of professionals," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 32(2), pages 207-229, February.
    4. Beatriz, Mikael & Coffinet, Jérôme & Nicolas, Théo, 2022. "Relationship lending and SMEs’ funding costs over the cycle: Why diversification of borrowing matters," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 138(C).
    5. Tumer-Alkan, G., 2008. "Essays on banking," Other publications TiSEM 8d5ec521-4702-4e75-bc79-a, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    6. Yu, Y., 2014. "Essays on relationship banking," Other publications TiSEM f3d56b9e-e79e-46c4-bd42-4, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    7. Steven Ongena & Yuejuan Yu, 2017. "Firm Industry Affiliation and Multiple Bank Relationships," Journal of Financial Services Research, Springer;Western Finance Association, vol. 51(1), pages 1-17, February.
    8. Antje Brunner & Jan Pieter Krahnen, 2013. "Hold-up in multiple banking: evidence from SME lending," International Journal of Banking, Accounting and Finance, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 5(1/2), pages 78-101.
    9. Carletti, Elena & Cerasi, Vittoria & Daltung, Sonja, 2007. "Multiple-bank lending: Diversification and free-riding in monitoring," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 16(3), pages 425-451, July.
    10. Manoj Athavale & Robert O. Edmister, 2004. "The Pricing of Sequential Bank Loans," The Financial Review, Eastern Finance Association, vol. 39(2), pages 231-253, May.
    11. Doris Neuberger & Maurice Pedergnana & Solvig Räthke-Döppner, 2008. "Concentration of Banking Relationships in Switzerland: The Result of Firm Structure or Banking Market Structure?," Journal of Financial Services Research, Springer;Western Finance Association, vol. 33(2), pages 101-126, April.
    12. Artashes Karapetyan & Bogdan Stacescu, 2014. "Information Sharing and Information Acquisition in Credit Markets," Review of Finance, European Finance Association, vol. 18(4), pages 1583-1615.
    13. Saibal Ghosh, 2019. "Lending Relationships, Borrowing Costs and Crisis: Evidence from Indian Micro Data," Global Business Review, International Management Institute, vol. 20(4), pages 1026-1050, August.
    14. Berger, Allen N. & Klapper, Leora F. & Martinez Peria, Maria Soledad & Zaidi, Rida, 2008. "Bank ownership type and banking relationships," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 17(1), pages 37-62, January.
    15. Djedidi-Kooli, Salima, 2009. "L’accès au financement des PME en France : quel rôle joué par la structure du système bancaire ?," Economics Thesis from University Paris Dauphine, Paris Dauphine University, number 123456789/8354 edited by Etner, François.
    16. Simon Cornée, 2014. "Soft Information and Default Prediction in Cooperative and Social Banks," Journal of Entrepreneurial and Organizational Diversity, European Research Institute on Cooperative and Social Enterprises, vol. 3(1), pages 89-103, June.
    17. Jarko Fidrmuc & Philipp Schreiber & Martin Siddiqui, 2018. "Intangible Assets and the Determinants of a Single Bank Relation of German SMEs," European Journal of Business Science and Technology, Mendel University in Brno, Faculty of Business and Economics, vol. 4(1), pages 5-30.
    18. Nakashima, Kiyotaka & Takahashi, Koji, 2020. "The time has come for banks to say goodbye: New evidence on bank roles and duration effects in relationship terminations," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    19. Patrick Bolton & Xavier Freixas & Leonardo Gambacorta & Paolo Emilio Mistrulli, 2016. "Relationship and Transaction Lending in a Crisis," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 29(10), pages 2643-2676.
    20. Hakimi, Abdelaziz & Hamdi, Helmi, 2013. "The duration of bank relationships and the performance of Tunisian firms," MPRA Paper 55754, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2014.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Banks; Relationship banking; Borrowing costs;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages
    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:empfin:v:46:y:2018:i:c:p:191-209. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jempfin .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.