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Journal of Finance Vol. 71 No. 3 2016

Exporting Liquidity: Branch Banking and Financial Integration

Erik Gilje; Elena Loutskina; Philip E. Strahan1

1 Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

Abstract

Using exogenous liquidity windfalls from oil and natural gas shale discoveries, we demonstrate that bank branch networks help integrate U.S. lending markets. Banks exposed to shale booms enjoy liquidity inflows, which increase their capacity to originate and hold new loans. Exposed banks increase mortgage lending in nonboom counties, but only where they have branches and only for hard‐to‐securitize mortgages. Our findings suggest that contracting frictions limit the ability of arm's length finance to integrate credit markets fully. Branch networks continue to play an important role in financial integration, despite the development of securitization markets.

DOI
10.1111/jofi.12387
Volume
71
Issue
3
Pages
1159-1184
Language
en
Sources
bibtex:phds-export.bib crossref openalex

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