Banks' lending during the financial crisis

This thesis includes three empirical chapters. The chapters analyze different elements that affect the lending behavior of banks, particularly during the crisis period. The recent global financial crisis highlighted the central role of financial intermediaries’ stability in assuring a smooth transmission of credit to borrowers. In this thesis, I show that factors, such as the structure of the banks’ balance sheet and the country level particularities such as banking sector concentration significantly affect the banks’ lending behavior and lending channel.