Is there help indeed, if there is help in need? The case of credit unions during the global financial crisis

Credit unions (CUs) may respond to a financial shock differently than other types of banks because of their unique membership-based governance structure. We exploit the financial crisis of 2008/09 as a negative shock to Brazilian banks and analyze the lending behavior of CUs in comparison to non-CUs and the subsequent effects on the commercial clients' labor force. We find that during the financial crisis, CUs tightened their members' access to credit to a lesser extent (insurance effect) than did other bank types. Notably, the labor market impact of the insurance effect of CUs is positive for very small firms