Credit rationing and credit view: empirical evidence from loan data

The empirical literature tries to identify credit rationing and its determinants by using balance sheet data or evidence from corporate surveys. Observational equivalence, identification problems, and interview biases are serious problems in these studies. We analyse the determinants of credit rationing directly on credit files by looking at the difference between the amount demanded and supplied to each borrower from official bank records. Our findings provide microeconomic evidence in support of the credit view hypothesis showing that the European Central Bank refinancing rate is significantly and positively related to partial (but not total) credit rationing. This finding is consistent with the hypothesis that such variable affects the total volume of commercial bank loans.