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Mind the Gap: The Difference between U.S. and European Loan Rates

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  • Tobias Berg
  • Anthony Saunders
  • Sascha Steffen
  • Daniel Streitz

Abstract

We analyze pricing differences between U.S. and European syndicated loans over the 1992–2014 period. We explicitly distinguish credit lines from term loans. For credit lines, U.S. borrowers pay significantly higher spreads, but lower fees, resulting in similar total costs of borrowing in both markets. Credit line usage is more cyclical in the United States, which provides a rationale for the pricing structure difference. For term loans, we analyze the channels of the cross-country loan price differential and document the importance of: the composition of term loan borrowers and the loan supply by institutional investors and foreign banks.

Suggested Citation

  • Tobias Berg & Anthony Saunders & Sascha Steffen & Daniel Streitz, 2017. "Mind the Gap: The Difference between U.S. and European Loan Rates," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 30(3), pages 948-987.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:rfinst:v:30:y:2017:i:3:p:948-987.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/rfs/hhw097
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    1. Koetter, Michael & Krause, Thomas & Sfrappini, Eleonora & Tonzer, Lena, 2022. "Completing the European Banking Union: Capital cost consequences for credit providers and corporate borrowers," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 148(C).
    2. Schularick, Moritz & Steffen, Sascha & Tröger, Tobias, 2020. "Bank capital and the European recovery from the COVID-19 crisis," SAFE White Paper Series 69, Leibniz Institute for Financial Research SAFE.
    3. Mario Cerrato & Hormoz Ramian & Shengfeng Mei, 2022. "European firms, Panic Borrowing and Credit Lines Drawdowns: What did we learn from the COVID-19 shock? (updated version February 2023)," Working Papers 2022_12, Business School - Economics, University of Glasgow.
    4. Burietz, Aurore & Oosterlinck, Kim & Szafarz, Ariane, 2017. "Europe vs. the U.S.: A new look at the syndicated loan pricing puzzle," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 160(C), pages 50-53.
    5. Delis, Manthos D. & Politsidis, Panagiotis N. & Sarno, Lucio, 2022. "The cost of foreign-currency lending," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 136(C).
    6. Guney, Yilmaz & Karpuz, Ahmet & Ozkan, Neslihan, 2017. "R&D investments and credit lines," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 261-283.
    7. Acharya, Viral & Engle, Robert & Steffen, Sascha, 2021. "Why did bank stocks crash during COVID-19?," CEPR Discussion Papers 15901, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    8. Viral V Acharya & Tim Eisert & Christian Eufinger & Christian Hirsch, 2019. "Whatever It Takes: The Real Effects of Unconventional Monetary Policy," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 32(9), pages 3366-3411.
    9. Hasan, Iftekhar & Kim, Suk-Joong & Politsidis, Panagiotis N. & Wu, Eliza, 2021. "Loan syndication under Basel II: How do firm credit ratings affect the cost of credit?," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    10. Mueller, Isabella & Sfrappini, Eleonora, 2022. "Climate Change-Related Regulatory Risks and Bank Lending," Working Paper Series 2670, European Central Bank.
    11. Rauf, Asad, 2023. "Bank stability and the price of loan commitments," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    12. Cortés, Janko Hernández & Tribó, Josep A & Adamuz, María de las Mercedes, 2020. "Are syndicated loans truly less expensive?," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    13. José Azar & Sahil Raina & Martin Schmalz, 2022. "Ultimate ownership and bank competition," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 51(1), pages 227-269, March.
    14. Viral V Acharya & Sascha Steffen, 2020. "The Risk of Being a Fallen Angel and the Corporate Dash for Cash in the Midst of COVID," The Review of Corporate Finance Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 9(3), pages 430-471.
    15. Delis, Manthos & Politsidis, Panagiotis & Sarno, Lucio, 2018. "Foreign currency lending," MPRA Paper 88197, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    16. Lei Li & Philip E. Strahan & Song Zhang, 2020. "Banks as Lenders of First Resort: Evidence from the COVID-19 Crisis," NBER Working Papers 27256, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    17. Gong, Di & Jiang, Tao & Wu, Weixing, 2018. "A foreign currency effect in the syndicated loan market of emerging economies," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 211-226.
    18. Hasan, Iftekhar & Kim, Suk-Joong & Politsidis, Panagiotis & Wu, Eliza, 2020. "Syndicated bank lending and rating downgrades: Do sovereign ceiling policies really matter?," MPRA Paper 102941, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    19. Ambrocio, Gene & Gu, Xian & Hasan, Iftekhar & Politsidis, Panagiotis N., 2022. "The diplomacy discount in global syndicated loans," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    20. Grosse-Rueschkamp, Benjamin & Steffen, Sascha & Streitz, Daniel, 2019. "A capital structure channel of monetary policy," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 133(2), pages 357-378.
    21. Isabella Müller & Felix Noth & Lena Tonzer, 2022. "A Note on the Use of Syndicated Loan Data," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 22-064/IV, Tinbergen Institute.
    22. Alimov, Azizjon, 2019. "Intellectual property rights reform and the cost of corporate debt," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 195-211.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • G30 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - General
    • G20 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - General
    • G15 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - International Financial Markets

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