We exploit the information content of option prices to construct a novel measure of bank tail-risk. We document a persistent increase in tail-risk for the U.S. banking industry following the global financial crisis, except for banks designated as systemically important by the Dodd-Frank Act. We...

The U.S. government uses its voting power to direct IMF funds to countries where U.S. banks stand to lose the most from sovereign default -- a de facto bailout. Consistent with this, the likelihood a defaulting sovereign is granted an IMF loan is increasing in U.S. banks' exposure to that...

Firms hold less cash (i.e. internal-liquidity) when their local bank branching network is dense. The effect strengthens for small, opaque and financially constrained firms. Further, it weakens with distance and strengthens with urban vibrancy. Finally, firms located in dense local branch...

We use the SEC Tick Size Pilot Program to show that stock liquidity reduces the cost of bank loans. Treated firms experience a 52 basis point increase in the cost of borrowing during the Tick Size Pilot Program; an effect that reverses when the program ends. We find similar results in a broad...