Capital (architecture)

Macroeconomics

Financial system

Archaeology

Economics

Market liquidity

Business

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)

Monetary economics

Funding liquidity

Infectious disease (medical specialty)

Cash flow

Medicine

Finance

Financial crisis

Disease

Pathology

Liquidity crisis

History

The Review of Corporate Finance Studies

In March 2020, banks faced the largest increase in liquidity demands ever observed. Firms drew funds on a massive scale from preexisting credit lines in anticipation of cash flow and financial disruptions stemming from the advent of the COVID-19 crisis. The increase in liquidity demands was concentrated at the largest banks, who serve the largest firms. Precrisis financial condition did not constrain large banks’ liquidity supply. Coincident inflows of funds from both the Federal Reserve’s liquidity injection programs and depositors, along with strong preshock bank capital, explain why banks were able to accommodate these liquidity demands. (JEL G21, G28) Received June 7, 2020; editorial decision June 23, 2020 by Editor Isil Erel.

Banks as Lenders of First Resort: Evidence from the COVID-19 Crisis