Theory makes ambiguous predictions about the relationship between market structure and competitiveness of the banking system and banking sector stability. Empirical studies focusing on individual countries provide similarly ambiguous results, while cross-country studies point mostly to a...

Banking systems are fragile not only within one country but also within and across regions. We study the role of regional banking system characteristics for regional banking system fragility in Asia, Europe, Latin America and the US. We find that regional banking system fragility reduces when...

We study the sensitivity of banks' credit supply to small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) in the UK to banks' financial condition before and during the financial crisis. Employing unique data on the geographical location of all bank branches in the UK, we connect firms' access to bank credit...

We study the sensitivity of banks' credit supply to small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) in the UK to banks' financial condition before and during the financial crisis. Employing unique data on the geographical location of all bank branches in the UK, we connect firms' access to bank credit...