The evolving size distribution of banks

If limiting the size of large banks were considered appropriate to reduce systemic risk, it would be a clear change of direction relative to the long-term evolution of the industry.Bank size

Multinationals make the most of IT

Labor productivity ; Information technology

Sovereign debt shadows

All five peripheral EU countries face burdensome public debt and budget deficits, but the causes for uncertainty in each country?s situation differ.Debts, Public ; Budget deficits

Net exports' recent (and surprising?) contribution to GDP growth

Exports

U.S. commercial bank lending through 2008:Q4: new evidence from gross credit flows

How have U.S. commercial banks responded during the current financial crisis? What was hiding behind the dynamics of aggregate commercial bank loans through the end of 2008? We use balance sheet data for the entire population of commercial banks to construct quarterly gross credit flows (credit expansion and credit contraction series) for the U.S. banking system during the period 1999:Q1-2008:Q4 and provide new evidence on changes in lending. We show that credit expansion, as defined in this paper, began declining during the first half of 2008 while credit contraction began steeply increasing only between the third and fourth quarters of 2008. Until then net credit growth was below trend but positive and not dissimilar to the 1980 and 2001 recessions. However, between the third and fourth quarter credit contraction grew larger than credit expansion across all types of loans (real estate, individual, commercial, and industrial loans) and for the largest banks. On the contrary, smaller banks continued to display positive net credit growth. Once we include 2008:Q4 data, the cyclical properties of our series most resemble the beginning of the 1991 recession and the intensification of the Savings and Loan crisis.Financial crises ; Business cycles ; Credit

Some incomes are less average than others

Income distribution ; Income

Gross credit flows of U.S. commercial banks until 2008:Q3

Credit ; Bank loans

TARP beneficiaries and their lending patterns during the financial crisis

This paper provides a systematic analysis of the lending performance of U.S. commercial banks and savings institutions that received financial support through the Capital Purchase Program (CPP) established in October 2008. The authors combine U.S. Treasury data on recipients of the CPP with quarterly financial data for the entire population of depository institutions to reconstruct aggregate lending and gross credit flows (expansion and contraction). CPP institutions experienced a less severe lending contraction than non-CPP institutions for all types of loans and bank asset levels. The authors find no evidence of unusual reallocation of lending across depository institutions.Troubled Asset Relief Program ; Financial crises

The role of financing in international trade during good times and bad

The collapse of trade during the financial crisis can be tied, for the most part, to a drop in demand. Less talked about, however, is the role of financing—or lack thereof.International trade

U.S. trade springs back

The evidence suggests that the combination of a slowdown in trade finance and inventory adjustments likely explain the recent trade dynamics.International trade ; Economic conditions - United States