Financial Globalization and the Transmission of Credit Supply Shocks: Evidence from an Emerging Market

Abstract

This paper analyzes whether equity holdings of international lenders affect the transmission of credit supply shocks from developed countries to emerging markets. I exploit the 1998 Russian debt default as an exogenous credit supply shock to international lenders and trace out the impact on bank lending in Peru. I find that after the shock international lenders with equity holdings in Peruvian banks increased financing to banks in Peru, while international lenders without equity holdings reduced financing to banks in Peru. This effect could be driven either by differential credit supply from international lenders or by heterogeneity in credit demand across banks. I control for credit demand by examining firms that have loans from both banks with international equity holders and banks without international equity holders and find evidence for the credit supply explanation. The change in credit supply has real effects: I find a lower bankruptcy rate among firms borrowing from banks with international equity holders than among firms borrowing from banks without international equity holders. These results suggest that equity holdings of international lenders mitigate the transmission of credit supply shocks to emerging markets.