Carbon emissions and the bank-lending channel
File(s)
Published online version
Author(s)
Kacperczyk, Marcin
Peydro, Jose-Luis
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
We study how firm-level carbon emissions affect bank lending and real outcomes in a sample of global
firms with syndicated loans. We exploit bank-level climate commitments as firm-level shocks to lending
relationships, using firms' prior credit exposures to identify credit supply effects. Firms with higher
emissions that previously borrowed from committed banks receive less bank credit. Evidence from lending
volumes, prices, and within-firm-time loan-level data indicates a supply-side shift away from high-emission
firms, not explained by borrower risk. Affected firms reduce debt, leverage, size, and investment, yet we
find no reduction in future emissions, instead documenting evidence consistent with greenwashing.
firms with syndicated loans. We exploit bank-level climate commitments as firm-level shocks to lending
relationships, using firms' prior credit exposures to identify credit supply effects. Firms with higher
emissions that previously borrowed from committed banks receive less bank credit. Evidence from lending
volumes, prices, and within-firm-time loan-level data indicates a supply-side shift away from high-emission
firms, not explained by borrower risk. Affected firms reduce debt, leverage, size, and investment, yet we
find no reduction in future emissions, instead documenting evidence consistent with greenwashing.
Date Issued
2026-08-20
Date Acceptance
2026-08-03
Citation
The Review of financial studies, 2026
ISSN
0893-9454
Publisher
Oxford University Press
Journal / Book Title
The Review of financial studies
Copyright Statement
© The Author(s) 2026. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Society for Financial Studies. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
License URL
Identifier
10.1093/rfs/hhag078
Publication Status
Published online
Date Publish Online
2026-08-20