Combining euro-area credit register and carbon emission data, we provide evidence of a climate risk-taking channel in banks' lending policies. Banks charge higher interest rates to firms featuring greater carbon emissions, and lower rates to firms committing to lower emissions, controlling for...

Europe's financial structure has become strongly bank-based - far more so than in other economies. We document that an increase in the size of the banking system relative to equity and private bond markets is associated with more systemic risk and lower economic growth, particularly during...