Customer concentration and bank loan contracting: evidence from China

ABSTRACT This study uses hand-collected data regarding bank loan terms for Chinese listed firms to investigate whether and how a concentrated customer base affects bank loan contracting. We find that a more concentrated customer base reduces suppliers’ credit risk, which results in more favorable bank loan contracting terms (i.e. lower interest rates, longer maturities, and larger loan sizes). Furthermore, we provide evidence that increased operational efficiency, reduced information risk and default risk are possible channels through which customer concentration reduces bank loan contracting costs. The results are robust to a set of additional tests. Overall, our findings document the benefits of customer concentration in developing countries such as China and reveal how this benefit is priced into bank loan contract terms.