Research

Job Market Paper

The Interest Rate Channel of Lending Market Reallocation: Banks vs. Nonbanks

Abstract: Nonbank lending has reshaped traditional credit markets since the Global Financial Crisis. This paper examines how nonbanks capture more market share during monetary policy tightening. Using a proprietary data set that serves as the most comprehensive available proxy for U.S. small business loans, I find that nonbank market share rises by 1.4 percentage points following a one percentage point increase in the Federal Funds rate. I show that the shift toward nonbank lending is driven by bank loan contraction due to deposit outflows. The gain in nonbank market share is significantly greater in counties with more concentrated deposit markets.

Presentation: 2026 AFA Ph.D. Student Poster Session (scheduled), 2025 FMA Special Ph.D. Papers Presentation (scheduled), Inter-Finance PhD Seminar (scheduled), Global Finance Conference 2025, Purdue University Brownbag Seminar 2024

Work In Progress

Banking on Competitors: Acquisitions of Nonbank Lenders and Specialized Lending (with Sergey Chernenko)

Abstract: Banks and nonbanks are typically viewed as competitors, yet 30% of bank acquisitions now target nonbank lenders. Why? We show that banks acquire nonbanks to enter specialized lending markets. Using bank acquisition and small business loan data from 2008 to 2025, we find that acquiring banks significantly increase lending in the nonbank's specialized. We find that only 3.8% of the nonbank's customers switch to the bank. Instead, banks use acquired capabilities to attract entirely new borrowers. Meanwhile, the acquired nonbanks expand their own lending post-acquisition. This is the first study examining how bank-nonbank acquisitions affect lending behavior for both acquirers and targets.

Partisanship in Small Business Lending  (with Sergey Chernenko)

Abstract: Does partisanship affect the way bank officers extend loans? We assemble a novel dataset that combines information on the political partisanship of bank officers with bank-level small business lending data in Florida over the period 1990-2021. We show that bankers whose party affiliation differs from that of the U.S. President significantly reduce loan supply at the zip code level.

Expensive Bank Capital and Why Nonbanks Borrow (with Sergey Chernenko)

Abstract: Private debt funds borrow credit lines from banks at rates exceeding levels justified by their default rates and expected losses. Using AI-collected credit agreement data for business development companies at the end of 2024, we examine the determinants of this pricing premium. We find that both fund size and portfolio risk are significant drivers of loan rates. Larger funds exhibit greater bargaining power, securing lower rates, while shorter weighted average maturity is also associated with substantially lower rates.