Trade credit and bank relationships: evidence from pre-World War I Belgium

Abstract

We investigate the determinants of trade credit granted by suppliers in a historical environment which was characterized by high information asymmetries and strong banks, focusing on the role of bank-firm relationships. Our results, which are based on a unique sample of 535 firm-year observations for 125 listed Belgian firms in four dominant industries in the period 1905-1909, are generally consistent with the financing role of trade credit. They suggest that trade credit was a tool for channeling funds from firms with close bank ties to other firms, which is consistent with findings for contemporary developing countries.