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Functional distance and bank loan pricing: Evidence from the opening of high-speed railway in China

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  • Geng, Chunxiao
  • Li, Donghui
  • Sun, Jian
  • Yuan, Chun

Abstract

Employing the staggered opening of the High-speed railway (HSR) as an exogenous shock, this paper examines the impact of functional distance on bank loan pricing. Based on a unique loan-level dataset from a nationwide state-owned Chinese commercial bank, we find that after the HSR opening, the loan pricing of local private firms decreases significantly. The possible channel is the facilitating of bank's easier access to soft information through the shortening of temporal functional distance. Moreover, the effect of HSR opening is more pronounced when the borrowing firm is difficult to visit or when loan pricing is more sensitive to information. We also find that the HSR opening increases the loan volume for local private firms, while there are no significant changes in loan pricing or loan volume for public firms with HSR opening. Our main conclusion remains valid after considering various robustness and endogeneity issues.

Suggested Citation

  • Geng, Chunxiao & Li, Donghui & Sun, Jian & Yuan, Chun, 2023. "Functional distance and bank loan pricing: Evidence from the opening of high-speed railway in China," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbfina:v:149:y:2023:i:c:s0378426623000353
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbankfin.2023.106810
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Functional distance; High-speed railway opening; Loan pricing;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages
    • G18 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Government Policy and Regulation

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