We examine the firm- and country-level determinants of the currency denomination of small business loans. We first model the choice of loan currency in a framework which features a trade-off between lower cost of debt and the risk of firm-level distress costs, and also examines the impact of...

Household borrowing in a foreign currency is a widespread phenomenon in Austria. Twelve percent of Austrian households report their housing loan to be denominated in either Swiss franc or Japanese yen for example. Yet, despite its importance, peculiar character, and immediate policy concerns, we...

Based on survey data covering 8,387 firms in 20 countries we compare credit demand and credit supply for firms in Eastern Europe to those for firms in selected Western European countries. We find that, while 30% of firms do not need credit in Eastern Europe, their need for credit is higher than...

Motivated by concerns over foreign currency exposures of banks in Emerging Europe, we examine the currency denomination of business loans made in Bulgaria during the period 2003-2007. We analyze a unique dataset including information on the requested and granted currency for more than hundred...

We construct a unique dataset of legislative reforms in merger control legislation that occurred in nineteen industrial countries in the period 1987-2004, and test the economic impact of these changes on firms’ stock prices. In line with the standard monopolistic hypothesis, we find that the...

Do religious beliefs affect real economic decisions? We investigate this fundamental question by comparing default rates on conventional and Islamic loans using a comprehensive monthly dataset from Pakistan that follows more than 150,000 loans over the period 2006:04 to 2008:12. We find robust...

In H1 2013, the Russian banking sector focused basically on the retail sector. Household bank deposits accounted for almost 40% of increased liabilities, whereas for 33% of increased assets. Corporate loans accounted for as li?? le as 25% of increased assets. Furthermore, retail loan yield hit...

Banks’ assets grew at a rate of 20.1% in May 2013, being a slightly lower than in 2011 and 2012. In May, financial result of the banking business was found to be minimal since the fall of 2011. Household savings on bank accounts and deposits slowed down rapidly after three months of growth. A...

In July 2013, the bulk of banks’ lending operations shifted towards corporate loans: the growth rate of debt against loans issued to companies for the first time over several months in a row became noticeably higher than that of the retail credit portfolio. The shrinkage of monies on corporate...

In the first months of 2014 the focus of active operations of banks has been the build-up of foreign assets as a result of the dollarisation of their domes?? c liabilities. At the same ?? me there was a considerable decrease in household savings deposits with banks compared with last year. The...