This paper investigates the global loan pricing puzzle, focusing on the significantly higher interest rate spreads in the U.S. compared to the European market. Using syndicated loan data from U.S. and European firms between 1992 and 2014, we find that bank information rents are the primary driver behind this disparity. U.S. banks leverage their informational advantages to extract higher borrowing costs from firms, particularly through credit lines, where their pricing power is most pronounced. In contrast, European firms benefit from a more competitive lending environment, where relationship lending practices result in lower interest rate spreads. Additionally, we find that these cost differences are more substantial during non-recessionary periods, suggesting that market structure and lender behavior, rather than macroeconomic downturns, explain the persistent spread differences between the two regions.

中文翻译：

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银行信息租金和贷款定价：美国银行如何获得比欧洲银行更高的利差

本文调查了全球贷款定价之谜，重点关注与欧洲市场相比，美国的利差明显更高。使用 1992 年至 2014 年间美国和欧洲公司的银团贷款数据，我们发现银行信息租金是这种差异背后的主要驱动因素。美国银行利用其信息优势从企业那里榨取更高的借款成本，特别是通过信贷额度，因为这些企业的定价能力最为明显。相比之下，欧洲公司受益于更具竞争力的贷款环境，其中关系贷款做法导致较低的利差。此外，我们发现，这些成本差异在非衰退时期更为显著，这表明市场结构和贷款人行为，而不是宏观经济衰退，解释了两个地区之间持续的利差差异。