Search Results
Working Paper
How Private Equity Fuels Non-Bank Lending
We show how private equity (PE) buyouts fuel loan sales and non-bank participation in the U.S. syndicated loan market. Combining loan-level data from the Shared National Credit register with buyout deals from Pitchbook, we find that PE-backed loans feature lower bank monitoring, lower loan shares retained by the lead bank, and more loan sales to non-bank financial intermediaries. For PE-backed loans, the sponsor's reputation and the strength of its relationship with the lead bank further reduce the lead bank's retained share and monitoring. Our results suggest that PE sponsor engagement ...
Discussion Paper
The Price of Bank Funding Behind Private Credit: Evidence from Business Development Companies
Private credit is often described as credit provided outside the banking system. In many cases, this description is accurate: private credit lenders originate loans directly to firms, hold those loans on their balance sheets, and do not rely on deposits in the way banks do. But private credit is not fully separate from banks.
Working Paper
Does Private Equity Over-Lever Portfolio Companies?
Detractors have warned that Private Equity (PE) funds tend to over-lever their portfolio companies because of an option-like payoff, building up default risk and debt overhang. This paper argues PE-ownership leads to substantially higher levels of optimal (value-maximizing) leverage, by reducing the expected cost of financial distress. Using data from a large sample of PE buyouts, I estimate a dynamic trade-off model where leverage is chosen by the PE investor. The model is able to explain both the level and change in leverage documented empirically following buyouts. The increase in optimal ...
Working Paper
Indirect Credit Supply: How Bank Lending to Private Credit Shapes Monetary Policy Transmission
This paper examines how banks’ financing of nonbank lenders affects monetary policy transmission. Using supervisory bank loan-level data and deal-level private credit data, we document an intermediation chain: Banks lend to Business Development Companies (BDCs)—large private credit providers—which then lend to firms. As monetary tightening restricts bank lending, firms turn to BDCs for credit, prompting BDCs to borrow more from banks. This intermediation chain raises borrowing costs, as banks charge BDCs higher rates, which BDCs pass on to firms. Consistent with this pass-through, ...