Over the past two decades, banks have increasingly focused on offering contingent credit in the form of credit lines as a primary means of corporate borrowing. We review the existing body of research regarding the rationales for banks' provision of liquidity insurance in the form of credit...

Using real estate investment trusts (REITs) that invest in commercial real estate (CRE) as a leading example, we study the implications for banks of extending credit lines to "shadow banks" or non-bank financial intermediaries (NBFIs). While small and mid-size banks hold an economically...