IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/bdi/opques/qef_177_13.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Female firms and banks� lending behaviour: what happened during the great recession?

Author

Listed:
  • Francesca Maria Cesaroni

    (University of Urbino �Carlo Bo�)

  • Francesca Lotti

    (Bank of Italy)

  • Paolo Emilio Mistrulli

    (Bank of Italy)

Abstract

During the financial crisis banks faced liquidity shocks, and lending slowed down. The reduction in credit availability was due to demand- and supply-side factors. The decrease in turnover and investment led to a contraction of financial needs; on the other hand, the tightening of credit supply was the result of banks� greater risk-aversion, difficulties in raising funds, and a worsening in the creditworthiness of borrowers. However, banks do not pass on liquidity shocks to borrowers according to a homogenous pattern: by following a pecking order, they first reduce lending to the marginal segment of borrowers to protect their core customers. Previous studies have shown that banks are less prone to lend to female firms than to others: lending to female firms may have suffered more during the crisis than other segments of the credit market. By using data from the Credit Register at the Bank of Italy for the period 2007-2009, we find that women-owned firms faced a more pronounced credit contraction with respect to other firms.

Suggested Citation

  • Francesca Maria Cesaroni & Francesca Lotti & Paolo Emilio Mistrulli, 2013. "Female firms and banks� lending behaviour: what happened during the great recession?," Questioni di Economia e Finanza (Occasional Papers) 177, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    • Handle: RePEc:bdi:opques:qef_177_13
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.bancaditalia.it/pubblicazioni/qef/2013-0177/QEF_177.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Bellucci, Andrea & Borisov, Alexander & Zazzaro, Alberto, 2010. "Does gender matter in bank-firm relationships? Evidence from small business lending," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 34(12), pages 2968-2984, December.
    2. Fay, Michael & Williams, Lesley, 1993. "Gender bias and the availability of business loans," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 8(4), pages 363-376, July.
    3. Lola Fabowale & Barbara Orser & Allan Riding, 1995. "Gender, Structural Factors, and Credit Terms between Canadian Small Businesses and Financial Institutions," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 19(4), pages 41-65, July.
    4. Robert Fairlie & Alicia Robb, 2009. "Gender differences in business performance: evidence from the Characteristics of Business Owners survey," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 33(4), pages 375-395, December.
    5. Watson, John & Robinson, Sherry, 2003. "Adjusting for risk in comparing the performances of male- and female-controlled SMEs," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 18(6), pages 773-788, November.
    6. Ping Cheng & Zhenguo Lin & Yingchun Liu, 2011. "Do Women Pay More for Mortgages?," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 43(4), pages 423-440, November.
    7. Muravyev, Alexander & Talavera, Oleksandr & Schäfer, Dorothea, 2009. "Entrepreneurs' gender and financial constraints: Evidence from international data," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 37(2), pages 270-286, June.
    8. Maria Lucia Stefani & Valerio Vacca, 2013. "Credit access for female firms: evidence from a survey on European SMEs," Questioni di Economia e Finanza (Occasional Papers) 176, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    9. Vania Sena & Jonathan Scott & Stephen Roper, 2012. "Gender, borrowing patterns and self-employment: some evidence for England," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 38(4), pages 467-480, May.
    10. Ken S. Cavalluzzo, 2002. "Competition, Small Business Financing, and Discrimination: Evidence from a New Survey," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 75(4), pages 641-680, October.
    11. Puri, Manju & Rocholl, Jörg & Steffen, Sascha, 2011. "Global retail lending in the aftermath of the US financial crisis: Distinguishing between supply and demand effects," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 100(3), pages 556-578, June.
    12. Alberto F. Alesina & Francesca Lotti & Paolo Emilio Mistrulli, 2013. "Do Women Pay More For Credit? Evidence From Italy," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 11, pages 45-66, January.
    13. Pelger, Ines, 2011. "Male vs. female business owners: Are there differences in investment behavior?," Discussion Papers in Economics 12526, University of Munich, Department of Economics.
    14. Del Giovane, Paolo & Eramo, Ginette & Nobili, Andrea, 2011. "Disentangling demand and supply in credit developments: A survey-based analysis for Italy," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 35(10), pages 2719-2732, October.
    15. Cavalluzzo, Ken S & Cavalluzzo, Linda C, 1998. "Market Structure and Discrimination: The Case of Small Businesses," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 30(4), pages 771-792, November.
    16. Buttner, E. Holly & Rosen, Benson, 1989. "Funding new business ventures: Are decision makers biased against women entrepreneurs?," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 4(4), pages 249-261, July.
    17. Brad M. Barber & Terrance Odean, 2001. "Boys will be Boys: Gender, Overconfidence, and Common Stock Investment," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 116(1), pages 261-292.
    18. Susan Marlow & Dean Patton, 2005. "All Credit to Men? Entrepreneurship, Finance, and Gender," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 29(6), pages 717-735, November.
    19. Rachel Croson & Uri Gneezy, 2009. "Gender Differences in Preferences," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 47(2), pages 448-474, June.
    20. Susan Coleman & Alicia Robb, 2009. "A comparison of new firm financing by gender: evidence from the Kauffman Firm Survey data," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 33(4), pages 397-411, December.
    21. Buttner, E. Holly & Rosen, Benson, 1988. "Bank loan officers' perceptions of the characteristics of men, women, and successful entrepreneurs," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 3(3), pages 249-258.
    22. Cliff, Jennifer E., 1998. "Does one size fit all? exploring the relationship between attitudes towards growth, gender, and business size," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 13(6), pages 523-542, November.
    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. Stefania Basiglio & Paola De Vincentiis & Eleonora Isaia & Mariacristina Rossi, 2019. "Credit Access and Approval," Working papers 061, Department of Economics, Social Studies, Applied Mathematics and Statistics (Dipartimento di Scienze Economico-Sociali e Matematico-Statistiche), University of Torino.
    2. Mustapha Douch & Huw Edwards & Sushanta Mallick, 2022. "The UK Productivity Puzzle: Does Firm Cohort matter for their Performance following the Financial Crisis?," Bank of Lithuania Working Paper Series 101, Bank of Lithuania.
    3. Claudia Piras & Andrea Filippo Presbitero & Roberta Rabellotti, 2013. "Definitions Matter: Measuring Gender Gaps in Firms' Access to Credit," Mo.Fi.R. Working Papers 90, Money and Finance Research group (Mo.Fi.R.) - Univ. Politecnica Marche - Dept. Economic and Social Sciences.
    4. Basiglio, Stefania, 2018. "Essays on financial behaviour of households and firms," Other publications TiSEM c13423c5-8bf2-44a7-baa7-3, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    5. Stefania Basiglio & Paola Vincentiis & Eleonora Isaia & Mariacristina Rossi, 2023. "Women-led Firms and Credit Access. A Gendered Story?," Italian Economic Journal: A Continuation of Rivista Italiana degli Economisti and Giornale degli Economisti, Springer;Società Italiana degli Economisti (Italian Economic Association), vol. 9(1), pages 199-233, March.

    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. Francesco Campanella & Luana Serino, 2019. "Gender and Financial Constraints: An Empirical Investigation in Italy," International Journal of Financial Research, International Journal of Financial Research, Sciedu Press, vol. 10(2), pages 109-120, April.
    2. Emma Galli & Danilo V. Mascia & Stefania P. S. Rossi, 2020. "Bank credit constraints for women‐led SMEs: Self‐restraint or lender bias?," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 26(4), pages 1147-1188, September.
    3. YVES ROBICHAUD & JEAN-CHARLES CACHON & EGBERT McGRAW, 2019. "Gender Differences In Venture Financing: A Study Among Canadian And Us Entrepreneurs," Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship (JDE), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 24(03), pages 1-21, September.
    4. Mascia, Danilo V. & Rossi, Stefania P.S., 2017. "Is there a gender effect on the cost of bank financing?," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 136-153.
    5. S. Brana, 2013. "Microcredit: an answer to the gender problem in funding?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 40(1), pages 87-100, January.
    6. Basiglio, Stefania, 2018. "Essays on financial behaviour of households and firms," Other publications TiSEM c13423c5-8bf2-44a7-baa7-3, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    7. Stefania Basiglio & Paola De Vincentiis & Eleonora Isaia & Mariacristina Rossi, 2019. "Credit Access and Approval," Working papers 061, Department of Economics, Social Studies, Applied Mathematics and Statistics (Dipartimento di Scienze Economico-Sociali e Matematico-Statistiche), University of Torino.
    8. Emma Galli & Danilo Valerio Mascia & Stefania Patrizia Sonia Rossi, 2018. "Does Corruption Influence the Self-Restraint Attitude of Women-led SMEs towards Bank Lending?," CESifo Economic Studies, CESifo Group, vol. 64(3), pages 426-455.
    9. Barbara J. Orser & Allan L. Riding & Kathryn Manley, 2006. "Women Entrepreneurs and Financial Capital," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 30(5), pages 643-665, September.
    10. Agier, Isabelle & Szafarz, Ariane, 2013. "Microfinance and Gender: Is There a Glass Ceiling on Loan Size?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 165-181.
    11. Bellucci, Andrea & Borisov, Alexander & Zazzaro, Alberto, 2010. "Does gender matter in bank-firm relationships? Evidence from small business lending," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 34(12), pages 2968-2984, December.
    12. Nigar Hashimzade & Yulia Rodionova, 2013. "Gender Bias in Access to Finance, Occupational Choice, and Business Performance," Economics Discussion Papers em-dp2013-01, Department of Economics, University of Reading.
    13. Alonso-Almeida, María del Mar, 2013. "Influence of gender and financing on tourist company growth," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 66(5), pages 621-631.
    14. Pedro Manuel Nogueira Reis & António Pedro Soares Pinto, 2022. "How Do Banking Characteristics Influence Companies’ Debt Features and Performance during COVID-19? A Study of Portuguese Firms," IJFS, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-29, October.
    15. Stefania Basiglio & Paola Vincentiis & Eleonora Isaia & Mariacristina Rossi, 2023. "Women-led Firms and Credit Access. A Gendered Story?," Italian Economic Journal: A Continuation of Rivista Italiana degli Economisti and Giornale degli Economisti, Springer;Società Italiana degli Economisti (Italian Economic Association), vol. 9(1), pages 199-233, March.
    16. Jean-Christophe Statnik & Thi-Le-Giang Vu & Laurent Weill, 2023. "Does Corruption Discourage More Female Entrepreneurs from Applying for Credit?," Comparative Economic Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Association for Comparative Economic Studies, vol. 65(1), pages 1-28, March.
    17. repec:rdg:wpaper:em-dp2013-01 is not listed on IDEAS
    18. Maria Lucia Stefani & Valerio Vacca, 2013. "Credit access for female firms: evidence from a survey on European SMEs," Questioni di Economia e Finanza (Occasional Papers) 176, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    19. Goran Calic & Moren Lévesque & Anton Shevchenko, 2024. "On why women-owned businesses take more time to secure microloans," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 63(3), pages 917-938, October.
    20. Chen, Xiao & Huang, Bihong & Ye, Dezhu, 2019. "The Gender Gap in Peer-to-Peer Lending: Evidence from the People’s Republic of China," ADBI Working Papers 977, Asian Development Bank Institute.
    21. Fiona Wilson, 2016. "Making Loan Decisions in Banks: Straight from the Gut?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 137(1), pages 53-63, August.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    financial crisis; banks; loans; women-owned firms.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    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:bdi:opques:qef_177_13. 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: the person in charge (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/bdigvit.html .

    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.