We provide empirical evidence for the existence, magnitude, and economic impact of stigma associated with banks … borrow from the Term Auction Facility rather than from the discount window. The incidence of stigma varied according to bank … characteristics and market conditions. Finally, we find that discount window stigma is economically relevant since it increased banks …

We study Discount Window (DW) stigma, the reluctance to access the Federal Reserve's lender-of-last-resort facility … among smaller banks and when financial markets experience disruptions. In particular, evidence of DW stigma emerged months … stigma. The implications of these results for the provision of emergency liquidity are discussed. …