Small-business owners and their choice of banks: Some lessons from the banking literature and game theory in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

ABSTRACT Finance textbooks treat banks as homogenous institutions. Intuition suggests that small businesses should interact with large banks, given the latter’s ability to diversify risk. Large banks are involved in transactional banking as part of their business relationships, and small and community banks use soft information and value long-term relationships with borrowers. During the recent COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent Paycheck Protection Program lending, large banks supported bigger businesses while small and community banks supported small businesses. To investigate this phenomenon, we focus on the U.S. experience and conduct a game theory analysis. Based on the results, we recommend that small businesses develop long-term relationships with small and community banks, which are more likely to use soft information and support the small businesses during a crisis.