Does face-to-face contact matter? Evidence on loan pricing

Abstract

This paper focuses on the economic impact of the lender–borrower relationship on loan interest rates and tests whether repeated bank-firm contact significantly reduces these rates. We find strong evidence of the ‘relationship intensity’ hypothesis, and we detect a contribution of physical contact between banks and firms to loan pricing, controlling for the location where contact occurs. Finally, we report new evidence on the hold-up problem; in particular, we find that under certain circumstances, a closer relationship may alleviate extra borrowing costs.

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