Regulatory Thresholds and the Supply of Small Business Credit
This paper examines how regulatory thresholds affect the pricing and structure of small business lending. I exploit the 10 billion Dollar asset cutoff in the Dodd‑Frank Act, which imposes enhanced regulatory requirements on banks, to isolate the impact of regulation on lending outcomes. Banks crossing the threshold increase loan spreads and adjust contract terms by reducing loan size, shortening maturity, and increasing reliance on government guarantees after the implementation of Dodd-Frank act. These effects are concentrated among banks with greater exposure to commercial and industrial lending, consistent with a supply-side channel through which regulatory costs are passed on to borrowers. These findings highlight how size-based regulatory thresholds can distort the allocation of credit by increasing the marginal cost of bank intermediation.
Regulatory Thresholds and the Supply of Small Business Credit
This paper examines how regulatory thresholds affect the pricing and structure of small business lending. I exploit the 10 billion Dollar asset cutoff in the Dodd‑Frank Act, which imposes enhanced regulatory requirements on banks, to isolate the impact of regulation on lending outcomes. Banks crossing the threshold increase loan spreads and adjust contract terms by reducing loan size, shortening maturity, and increasing reliance on government guarantees after the implementation of Dodd-Frank act. These effects are concentrated among banks with greater exposure to commercial and industrial lending, consistent with a supply-side channel through which regulatory costs are passed on to borrowers. These findings highlight how size-based regulatory thresholds can distort the allocation of credit by increasing the marginal cost of bank intermediation.
