
In recent years many banks have attempted to improve the measurement and management of credit risk by assigning risk ratings to business loans. Virtually all large banks now assign such ratings. However, until recently there has been little information on the use of risk ratings by smaller banks. Recent revisions to the Federal Reserve's Survey of Terms of Business Lending and telephone consultations with more than 100 banks on the survey panel provide data on the prevalence and precision of risk rating systems at banks of all sizes. We find that the use of risk rating systems is quite widespread, but that smaller banks generally have less detailed systems than do larger banks. In addition, the new survey data allow us to asses the relationships between loan risk ratings and loan terms. Not surprisingly, riskier loans generally carry higher interest rates, even after taking account of other loan terms. There are more complex relationships between loan risk and other loan terms. Regression results indicate that banks of all sizes price for risk. We do not find a relationship between reported loan risk and delinquency and charge-off rates. However, this may reflect how recently the risk rating data have become available.
Commercial loans ; Bank loans ; Risk
Commercial loans ; Bank loans ; Risk
| selected citations These citations are derived from selected sources. This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically). | 16 | |
| popularity This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network. | Average | |
| influence This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically). | Top 10% | |
| impulse This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network. | Top 10% |
