#08-35
Empirical Analysis of Corporate Credit Lines
Gabriel Jiménez, Jose A. Lopez and Jesús Saurina
Abstract: Since bank credit lines are a major source of corporate funding, we examine the determinants
of their usage with a comprehensive database of Spanish corporate credit lines. A line’s
default status is a key factor driving its usage, which increases as firm financial conditions
worsen. Firms with prior defaults access their credit lines less, suggesting that bank
monitoring influences firms’ usage decisions. Line usage has an aging effect that causes it to
decrease by roughly 10% per year of its life. Lender characteristics, such as the length of a
firm’s banking relationships, as well as macroeconomic conditions affect usage decisions.
Keywords: credit lines, firm default, bank lending, exposure at default
JEL classifications: E32, G18, M21
