Information-Based Pricing in Specialized Lending

Journal of Financial Economics, 2025

Working Paper No. 00208-00

Share:

icon share X icon share facebook icon share linkedin

We study how competition between asymmetrically informed banks, one specialized and one non-specialized, affects loan prices. Both banks possess “general” signals regarding the borrower’s quality, which they use to screen loans. The specialized bank also has access to a “specialized” signal on which it bases its loan pricing. This private-information-based pricing makes the specialized bank bid more aggressively, mitigating the informational rent effect that gives it monopolistic power. Our findings explain why loans from specialized lenders feature lower interest rates and better ex-post performance. Supporting empirical evidence emphasizes the role of specialized information in shaping credit market outcomes.    


Zhiguo He

Zhiguo He

Stanford University

Jing Huang

Jing Huang

Texas A&M University