The paper studies the impact of the closure of bank branches on existing credit relationships, using a sample of closures that took place between 2010 and 2014. The evolution of the credit relationship before and after the branch closure is compared with that of credit relationships with similar characteristics and regarding branches near to the closed ones.
A branch closure increases the probability of credit relationships terminating. The increase is greater as the distance from the other branches of the same bank increases, for less important//significant credit relationships and depending on how easy it is for the firm to move its account to another bank. Only in the case of small firms and of short-term loans does the higher probability of a relationship terminating lead to a decrease in the availability of total credit, moreover of a temporary nature.
