How does credit information sharing shape bank loans?

This paper analyzes the influence of credit information sharing on how banks set the terms of bank loans and the ownership of the loans. Using a sample of 23,341 bank loans in 44 countries during the period 2005–2019 we examine how interest rates, collateral, maturity, amounts, and ownership of bank loans are influenced by the degree of penetration of credit bureaus and public credit registries. The results show that credit information sharing decreases interest rate spread for high-quality borrowers and decreases loan maturity. Moreover, the amount of credit is negatively affected by the degree of coverage by registries. Finally, we find evidence in line with credit information sharing increasing loan ownership concentration.