Bank Loan Monitoring, Distance, and Delegation
AEA Papers and Proceedings
vol. 113,
May 2023
(pp. 177-81)
Abstract
Using a proprietary transaction-level database of nearly 30,000 multiple-draw construction loans and their on-site inspection reports, we empirically examine the relationship between geographic distance and bank information acquisition over the course of the loans (i.e., monitoring). We find that projects farther from the nearest bank branch are more intensely monitored by bank-contracted, third-party inspectors (delegated monitors) and that projects farther from these inspectors receive less intense monitoring, potentially because inspectors face distance-related frictions. These results are consistent with the prediction that distance increases informational frictions but also suggest that banks may offset these frictions by delegating monitoring to closer inspectors.Citation
Heitz, Amanda Rae, Christopher Martin, and Alexander Ufier. 2023. "Bank Loan Monitoring, Distance, and Delegation." AEA Papers and Proceedings, 113: 177-81. DOI: 10.1257/pandp.20231118Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- D83 Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness
- G21 Banks; Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages
- G51 Household Finance: Household Saving, Borrowing, Debt, and Wealth
- R21 Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics: Housing Demand
- R31 Housing Supply and Markets