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Cross-Subsidization of Bad Credit in a Lending Crisis

Author

Listed:
  • Nikolaos Artavanis
  • Brian Jonghwan Lee
  • Stavros Panageas
  • Margarita Tsoutsoura

Abstract

We study the corporate-loan pricing decisions of a major, systemic bank during the Greek financial crisis. A unique aspect of our data set is that we observe both the actual interest rate and the “break-even rate” (BE rate) of each loan, as computed by the bank’s own loan-pricing department (in effect, the loan’s marginal cost). We document that low-BE-rate (safer) borrowers are charged significant markups, whereas high-BE-rate (riskier) borrowers are charged smaller and even negative markups. We rationalize this de facto cross-subsidization through the lens of a dynamic model featuring depressed collateral values, impaired capital-market access, and limit pricing.

Suggested Citation

  • Nikolaos Artavanis & Brian Jonghwan Lee & Stavros Panageas & Margarita Tsoutsoura, 2025. "Cross-Subsidization of Bad Credit in a Lending Crisis," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 38(5), pages 1464-1501.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:rfinst:v:38:y:2025:i:5:p:1464-1501.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/rfs/hhae074
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • E43 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Interest Rates: Determination, Term Structure, and Effects
    • E51 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - Money Supply; Credit; Money Multipliers
    • G01 - Financial Economics - - General - - - Financial Crises
    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages
    • G28 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Government Policy and Regulation

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