Accounting and Finance Seminar: Julien Sauvagnat, Bocconi University

Title: Lending to Overconfident Borrowers

Info about event

Time

Thursday 30 March 2023,  at 12:45 - 13:45

Location

Fuglesangs Allé 4, 8210 Aarhus V, Building 2630, Room 101

Organizer

Matthias Lassak

Presenter: Julien Sauvagnat, Bocconi University

Title: Lending to Overconfident Borrowers

Abstract: We study how banks lend to overconfident borrowers. For identification, we exploit variation in pupils’ overconfidence across areas in Italy. We find that borrowers born in overconfident areas make larger forecast errors on future sales, pay higher loan rates and are more likely to be denied credit. Consistent with a credit market model where borrowers have biased beliefs, collateral-based banks are more likely to grant credit to overconfident borrowers, who then invest and default more than others. We estimate that bad loans in Italy would be €10 billion (8%) lower in 2017 if banks relied less on collateral when lending to overconfident borrowers.

Host: Olga Balakina