Presentations: CU Boulder CFDM (poster) • 2022 FMA • WashU EGSC • OFR PhD Symposium • 2023 MFA • Young Scholars Finance Consortium • Columbia Business School • 2023 EFA • WashU Finance Conference (poster) • CEPR European Workshop on Household Finance • 2024 SFS Cavalcade • 2024 WFA

Abstract: I study how bankruptcy law firm advertisements affect household credit, exploiting the borders of local TV advertisement media markets. I document a significant advertising effect on filing rates and subsequently show that ad exposure is associated with better financial outcomes. I then characterize how ad-induced filers are different from existing filers in terms of case, financial, and credit variables. I find that ad-induced filers are more likely to receive a discharge, file with lawyer representation, and be first-time filers. I interpret these findings as evidence that bankruptcy law firm advertisements help mitigate frictions in the bankruptcy decision.

Presentations: ECB • Goethe University Frankfurt • CEPR Endless Summer Conference of Financial Intermediation and Corporate Finance • 2021 FMA • 2022 AEA • 2022 AFA • RCEA Conference on Recent Developments in Economics, Econometrics and Finance • 2022 Eastern FA • 2022 EFA • 2023 WFA

Media coverage: UCLA Anderson Review

Abstract: We study the corporate-loan pricing decisions of a major Greek bank during the Greek Financial Crisis. A unique aspect of our dataset is that we  observe both the interest rate  and the "breakeven rate" of each loan, as computed by the bank's own loan-pricing department (in effect, the loan's marginal cost). We document that low-breakeven-rate (safer) borrowers are charged significant markups, whereas high-breakeven-rate (riskier) borrowers are charged small and sometimes even negative markups. We rationalize this de facto cross-subsidization of riskier borrowers by safer borrowers through the lens of a dynamic model featuring depressed collateral values, impaired capital-market access, and limit pricing.

Presentations: Biennial Conference on Auto Lending (Philadelphia Fed) • RCEA Money, Macro and Finance Conference • Credit Scoring and Credit Control Conference XVII (University of Edinburgh) • International Risk Management Conference

Abstract: We examine the contribution of different lending channels to the auto loan market in times of crisis. Specifically, we explore lending from traditional banks, credit unions, and finance companies (nonbanks) over the past two decades, with an emphasis on the Great Recession and the COVID-19 pandemic. We find that banks provided weak support during the pandemic, thus losing market share and continuing the trend that emerged following the Great Recession. Nonbank market share during this period grew most significantly for subprime borrowers and in counties with stronger bank dependence. Survey evidence suggests that a tightening in banks' lending standards may have contributed to this trend. These findings contrast with the experience during the Great Recession, when banks contributed the most resilient credit to the auto loan market. Our paper highlights nonbanks' increasing role in the auto loan market in times of crisis, particularly for the subprime segment.

Abstract: A bank failure significantly disrupts the local deposit market. Despite a competitor exit, surviving banks raise deposit rates while their deposit growth falls. Comparing branches of the same bank located in counties with and without a nearby failure, we find that advertised one-year CD rates rise significantly, while annual deposit growth falls. Consistent with an inward shift in local deposit demand that raises survivors' marginal funding costs, aggregate county-level deposit growth also declines, households reallocate funds toward interest-generating alternatives, and surviving banks reduce mortgage originations, especially those with high predetermined funding exposure.

Abstract: After an accident-related injury, individuals can defer expenses to others through default, crowdfunding, or lawsuits. This paper examines the relationship between the latter two options by evaluating the impact of personal injury law firms' advertisements on crowdfunding. Using a newly assembled dataset of over two million GoFundMe campaigns and exploiting borders of local television advertising markets, we document a significant positive effect of advertising on crowdfunding, indicating that suing and crowdfunding are complements rather than substitutes. We present evidence that individuals engaged in litigation turn to crowdfunding to alleviate short-term liquidity needs arising from litigation.