This paper provides a new perspective to evaluate the economic role played by banks in non-performing loans (NPLs) accumulation. We estimate a benchmark NPL levels on the judicial inefficiency dimension, controlling for country- and bank-specific factors. To this end, first, we empirically...

We investigate the causal relationship between the efficiency of country’s judicial system and the quality of bank lending, using the contracts enforcement reforms that have been implemented in four European countries as a quasi-natural experiment. We find that strengthening of contract...

When the Covid-19 crisis struck, banks using internal-rating based (IRB) models quickly recognized the increase in risk and reduced lending more than banks using a standardized approach. This effect is not driven by borrowers' quality or by banks in countries with credit booms before the...