The Death of a Regulator: Strict Supervision, Bank Lending and Business Activity

Arbeitspapier

An important question in banking is how strict supervision affects bank lending and in turn local business activity. Supervisors forcing banks to recognize losses could choke off lending and amplify local economic woes. But stricter supervision could also change how banks assess and manage loans. Estimating such effects is challenging. We exploit the extinction of the thrift regulator (OTS) to analyze economic links between strict supervision, bank lending and business activity. We first show that the OTS replacement indeed resulted in stricter supervision of former OTS banks. Next, we analyze the ensuing lending effects. We show that former OTS banks increase small business lending by roughly 10 percent. This increase is concentrated in well-capitalized banks, those more affected by the new regime, and cannot be fully explained by a reallocation from mortgage to small business lending after the crisis. These findings suggest that stricter supervision operates not only through capital but can also correct deficiencies in bank management and lending practices, leading to more lending and a reallocation of loans.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: LawFin Working Paper ; No. 4

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Financial Markets and the Macroeconomy ; Money Supply; Credit; Money Multipliers ; Banks; Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages ; Financial Institutions and Services: Government Policy and Regulation ; Capital Budgeting; Fixed Investment and Inventory Studies; Capacity ; Corporate Finance and Governance: Government Policy and Regulation ; Business and Securities Law ; Regulated Industries and Administrative Law ; Economics of Regulation ; Accounting ; Accounting and Auditing: Government Policy and Regulation
• Subject: Bank regulation ; Enforcement ; Loan losses ; Aggregate outcomes ; Prudential oversight ; Business lending ; Entry and exit

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Granja, João ; Leuz, Christian
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Goethe University, Center for Advanced Studies on the Foundations of Law and Finance (LawFin)
• (where): Frankfurt a. M.
• (when): 2020

Further information

• DOI: doi:10.2139/ssrn.3092284
• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/244684
• URN: urn:nbn:de:hebis:30:3-616442
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:46 AM CET