Bank specialization, mortgage lending and house prices

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4 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This paper studies the link between banks’ geographic specialization and the growth in their mortgage lending. Specialized banks increase their lending relatively less during the boom (2004 - 2006) and they experience a lower reduction in their loans through the following bust (2007 - 2009). In the aggregate, bank specialization has an impact on the overall credit rather than a mere reallocation of lending: MSAs with a higher exposure to specialized banks experience less expansion and contraction in mortgages. As a result, higher bank specialization is associated with a less severe boom and bust cycle in house prices.

Original languageEnglish
Article number106836
Number of pages16
JournalJournal of Banking and Finance
Volume151
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jun 2023
Externally publishedYes

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