A Definition of Relationship Lending in a Global Context: A Study of the Japanese Main Bank System in the USA

Abstract

This paper concerns the lending technologies with the focus on relationship lending in a global context. It examines the two paradigms of arm’s-length lending and relationship lending as two extreme ends to capture the actual patterns of external finance. Establishing the nexus of social attributes, it concludes that relationship lending is based not only on soft qualitative information for SME financing but also on a collective trust between banks and large corporate borrowers in the Japanese main bank system. The findings suggest that the definition of relationship lending differs between economies on a global basis.