Using highly detailed data on the loan portfolios of large U.S. banks, we document that these banks "specialize" by concentrating their lending disproportionately into one industry. This specialization improves a bank’s industry-specific knowledge and allows it to offer generous loan terms to...

When a firm’s loans are first traded in the secondary market, private information about the firm is disclosed to a select group of large investors, so called “Qualified Institutional Buyers” (QIBs). We document a significant information effect that benefits these buyers in the firm’s...