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Loans on sale: Credit market seasonality, borrower need, and lender rents

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  • Justin Murfin
  • Mitchell Petersen

Abstract

The market for corporate credit is characterized by significant seasonal variation, both in interest rates and the volume of new lending. Firms borrowing from banks during seasonal "sales" in late spring and fall issue at 19 basis points cheaper than winter and summer borrowers. Issuers during cheap seasons appear to have less immediate or uncertain needs, but are enticed by low rates to engage in precautionary borrowing. High interest rate periods capture borrowers with unanticipated, non-deferrable investment needs. Consistent with models of intertemporal price discrimination, seasonality is strongly associated with market concentration among a few large banks with repeated interactions.

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  • Justin Murfin & Mitchell Petersen, 2014. "Loans on sale: Credit market seasonality, borrower need, and lender rents," NBER Working Papers 20310, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:20310
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    2. Lee, Seung Jung & Liu, Lucy Qian & Stebunovs, Viktors, 2022. "Risk-taking spillovers of U.S. monetary policy in the global market for U.S. dollar corporate loans," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 138(C).
    3. Jérémie Bertrand & Laurent Weill, 2022. "In December days are shorter but loans are cheaper," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 60(3), pages 1335-1356, July.
    4. Campbell, Dennis & Loumioti, Maria & Wittenberg-Moerman, Regina, 2019. "Making sense of soft information: interpretation bias and loan quality," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(2).
    5. Kumar, Nitish & Mullally, Kevin & Ray, Sugata & Tang, Yuehua, 2020. "Prime (information) brokerage," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 137(2), pages 371-391.
    6. Aytekin Ertan, 2022. "Real earnings management through syndicated lending," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 27(4), pages 1157-1198, December.
    7. Demiroglu, Cem & James, Christopher & Velioglu, Guner, 2022. "Why are commercial loan rates so sticky? The effect of private information on loan spreads," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 143(2), pages 959-972.
    8. Ricardo Correa & Ai He & Christoph Herpfer & Ugur Lel, 2022. "The rising tide lifts some interest rates: climate change, natural disasters, and loan pricing," International Finance Discussion Papers 1345, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    9. Berg, Tobias & Saunders, Anthony & Schäfer, Larissa & Steffen, Sascha, 2021. "Brexit and the contraction of syndicated lending," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 141(1), pages 66-82.
    10. Michael Schwert, 2020. "Does Borrowing from Banks Cost More than Borrowing from the Market?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 75(2), pages 905-947, April.
    11. Pedersen, Michael, 2018. "Credit risk and monetary pass-through—Evidence from Chile," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 144-158.
    12. Weston, James & Yimfor, Emmanuel, 2023. "Bank loans and bond prices," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    13. Michael Pedersen, 2016. "Pass-Through, Expectations, and Risks. What Affects Chilean Banks’ Interest Rates?," Working Papers Central Bank of Chile 780, Central Bank of Chile.
    14. Douglas (DJ) Fairhurst, 2020. "Financing seasonal demand," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 49(3), pages 839-870, September.
    15. Paseda, Oluseun & Olowe, Rufus, 2018. "The Debt Maturity Structure of Nigerian Quoted Firms," MPRA Paper 117061, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 30 Jun 2018.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages
    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill
    • L1 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance

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