Not only has credit card lending in Asia grown rapidly, but also several episodes of sharp booms and busts have been experienced, posing new risks to financial stability. Policymakers need to learn more about the risks arising from this type of consumer lending and respond with appropriate...

Relationship banking, with surviving banks, has a positive value during a systemic financial crisis. For many viable small and medium-size businesses in the Republic of Korea, relationship banking reduced liquidity constraints and thus diminished the probability of unwarranted bankruptcy during...

When negative monetary and financial shocks hit the Korean economy, reactions in the financial system amplified the impact of the shocks by reducing the credit available and increasing its cost. This particularly hurt segments of the economy that rely heavily on bank credit for external...