Banks finance newly-founded firms extensively despite severe asymmetric information. Whereas the demand for credit usually follows from entrepreneurs' lack of liquidity, we ask why and how banks supply credit to new firms of unknown value. We propose a model of credit allocation in which, due to...

How does lending-market competitiveness affect new firms' financing? Using a unique US representative panel of new firms, we document that in more concentrated local lending markets: (i) new firms are less likely to access credit; (ii) new firms have lower leverage; and (iii) the best performing...