Access to Capital, Investment, and the Financial Crisis

During the recent financial crisis, the impact of an impaired supply of bank credit on non-financial firms is minor compared to the impact of leverage-related financial fragility and a general flight to quality. Although banks were sharply affected by the credit crisis in the fall of 2007, the crisis did not negatively affect capital expenditures or net debt issuance of publicly held non-financial firms during its first year. This is true even for small and unrated firms, which are generally viewed as more dependent on bank financing. After September 2008, capital expenditures and net debt issuance fell sharply and firms hoarded cash. Capital expenditures did not fall more for more bank-dependent firms, but they decreased more for firms that were highly levered before the crisis, regardless of whether these firms had previously accessed public debt markets. In contrast to the response expected from a contraction in bank credit per se, the decrease in net equity issuance for small and unrated firms is greater than the decrease in net debt issuance during the crisis.