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Catch the Thief! Fraud in the U.S. Banking Industry

Filippo Curti1; Atanas Mihov2

1 Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond · 2 University of Kansas

The Review of Corporate Finance Studies 2025

Little is known about fraud in the financial services sector. Using a rich supervisory data set, this study dissects fraud at large U.S. banking organizations. We find that the impact of fraud extends beyond direct monetary costs. Severe tail fraud events lead banks to significantly reduce loan growth, with effects more pronounced at institutions with weaker capital and liquidity positions. We further document that tail fraud shocks are associated with tighter loan contract terms, even after controlling for borrower risk. These credit supply effects ultimately transmit to the real economy through reduced corporate investment among affected banks’ borrowers. Our analysis provides new detailed evidence on fraud in the U.S. financial services industry and its costs and consequences.

DOI
10.1093/rcfs/cfaf027
Language
en
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