We test whether lowering borrower switching costs intensifies bank competition. We exploit a 2014 reform by Brazil’s central bank that created a national framework for loan portability, allowing borrowers to refinance existing loans at rival banks. Using an event-study difference-in-differences design across municipalities, we find that effective annualized borrowing rates on payroll loans decline by about 19 basis points on average relative to the pre-reform mean, with larger reductions in ex-ante less concentrated markets. Credit quantities respond in the predicted direction: payroll-loan credit per capita rises by approximately 6\% overall and by up to 10\% in more competitive markets. Heterogeneity aligns with portability frictions, with larger effects for borrower groups and markets where outside options are more viable. Pre-treatment coefficients are small and statistically indistinguishable from zero, and the results are robust to alternative exposure and timing definitions.
Comissão Organizadora
Comissão Científica
Ferramenta completa de submissão, avaliação e publicação de anais para eventos científicos.
