WORKING PAPERS

Bankruptcy duration and bank credit   with O. De Jonghe, M. Mariathasan &  A.Scopelliti   (draft coming soon)

Abstract: This paper examines how delays in corporate bankruptcy resolution affects banks’ credit decisions. Exploiting variations in bankruptcy duration across business court jurisdictions in Belgium, we show that banks assign lower expected recovery value to collateral pledged by firms located in jurisdictions where bankruptcy proceedings are expected to last longer. Due to the lengthier collateral recovery, lenders apply additional discount to the recovery value of the protection at issuance. The reduced collateral value has direct implications for loan contract terms: an additional year of expected bankruptcy duration is associated with a 6 percent lower amount for a secured loan. In additional results, we also find that slower bankruptcy resolution increases the likelihood that banks grant forbearance to distressed borrowers, consistent with lenders being more willing to extend concessions when formal bankruptcy is costlier. Overall, our results point to the collateral recovery value as a key channel through which judicial efficiency shapes bank credit, while forbearance provides an additional adjustment margin once borrower distress materializes. 

Presentations (including scheduled): National Bank of Belgium, HEC Liège (HYRCE 2026)**,  KU Leuven, Pre-EFA 2026**

**poster session

WORK IN PROGRESS

Do Ethical Banks Lend Differently? Micro Evidence from Europe

Loan types: instrument combinations for firm financing

POLICY WORK & OTHER CONTRIBUTIONS (pre-PhD)

What drives firms’ investment in climate action?   with F. Kalantzis

(Evidence from the 2021-2022 EIB Investment Survey)

Media: Financial Times

I mutui green tra criticità e opportunità   (in Italian)

Efficienza energetica degli edifici: le sfide legate alla direttiva europea  (in Italian)

Bonus edilizia e cessione dei crediti fiscali: cosa cambia con il nuovo decreto    (in Italian)

(Prometeia SPA insights)