Bank loans are more available and cheaper for new and small businesses in the US in areas with highly concentrated banks than in areas with highly competitive banks. We explain this fact by analyzing banks' decisions to screen risky projects and their subsequent competition in loan provisions....

Bank loans are more available and cheaper for new and small businesses in the US in areas with highly concentrated banks than in areas with highly competitive banks. We explain this fact by analyzing banks' decisions to screen risky projects and their subsequent competition in loan provisions....

Bank loans are more available and cheaper for new and small businesses in the U.S. in concentrated banking areas than in competitive banking areas. To explain this anomaly, we analyze banks' decisions to screen projects and their subsequent competition in loan provisions. It is shown that, by...