Working Papers
The Economics of “Buy Now, Pay Later”: A Merchant’s Perspective, with Tobias Berg (Goethe University Frankfurt), Valentin Burg (Humboldt University), Manju Puri (Duke and NBER)
Revise & Resubmit at the Journal of Financial Economics (2023)
"Buy now, pay later" (BNPL) increases conversions and spendings more than other popular payment options and comes at lower costs for merchants. This makes the scheme highly attractive for merchants, explaining the rise of BNPL. Critically, customers with lower credit scores, lower income, and higher default rates are more interested in using BNPL.
Payment Firms, Cryptocurrencies, and CBDCs, with Tobias Berg (Goethe University Frankfurt), Felix Martini (Frankfurt School of Finance), Manju Puri (Duke and NBER)
Working Paper (2023)
We offer a method to identify payment firms. While their stock returns have no meaningful relationship to crypto currencies, there are negative reactions to central bank announcements on the introduction of CBDCs. The market is concerned about adverse disruptive effects on the business model of payment firms.
"Buy Now, Pay Later" and Impulse Shopping, with Valentin Burg (Humboldt University)
Working Paper and Job Market Paper (2023)
Impulsive consumers are responding more to randomized "buy now, pay later" (BNPL) offers than other individuals. BNPL availability also make consumer behavior more hasty, less optimized, and more premature. These adverse behavioral effects might be problematic because more impulsive consumers are also more likely to default on payment commitments.
Publications
Bank Branching Deregulation and the Syndicated Loan Market, with Karsten Müller (Princeton)
Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis (2020) [WP] [BibTeX] [Slides]
Changes in banking regulation have unintended and undocumented effects on the market for corporate credit. Bank branching deregulation following the Riegle-Neal Interstate Branching and Banking Efficiency Act of 1994 decreased syndicated loan issuance but spurred bilateral lending to corporations. This shift is also reflected in interest rate spreads, pointing to a supply-driven substitution effect. Results suggest that changes to banking regulation can affect not just the amount but also type of credit in the economy.
Have Banks Caught Corona? Effects of COVID on Lending in the US, with Thorsten Beck (Florence School of Banking and Finance, EUI; CEPR)
Journal of Corporate Finance (2022) [BibTeX] [COVID Economics WP] [CEPR WP] [VOX ] [Slides]
Banks with a greater deposit footprint in areas hit by COVID experience a significantly greater deterioration of their loan portfolios. While such lenders provide paycheck protection grants in affected areas more than other lenders, we observe negative effects on regular small business bank loans and on loan terms in the market for large syndicated loans.
The Demise of Branch Banking - Technology Consolidation, Bank Fragility, with Steven Ongena (University of Zurich)
Journal of Banking and Finance (forthcoming) [BibTeX]
We explore which explanations for the reduction of bank branches are supported by the data. While technology is associated with de-branching of banks across countries, economic factors like growth or bank fragility and consolidation of banks are more robustly linked to de-branching in US counties and on the branch level in the US.
Journal of Corporate Finance (2023) [WP] [BibTeX]
Journal of Corporate Finance (2017) [WP] [BibTeX] [Data]
Industrial and Corporate Change (2019) [WP] [BibTeX] [Data] [Slides]
Review of Political Economy (2017) [WP] [BibTeX]