关键词: 银团贷款, 网络中心性, 企业信贷可得性

Abstract: Whether and how relationship networks can improve credit availability is of great importance for micro entities. Based on the syndicated loan data in China from 2016 to 2021, this paper investigates the relationship between network centrality in the syndicated loan network and firms’ credit availability by constructing a bimodal financing network consisting of both lending institutions and borrowing firms. It analyzes the mechanism of firms’ syndicated loan network centrality and further explores the moderating role of the different syndicate natures. The findings reveal that firms occupying advantageous positions within the network tend to receive more favorable lending responses from banks. The higher the firms’ network centrality, the larger their credit availability. Mechanism analysis indicates that network centrality enhances credit access by mitigating information asymmetry and improving monitoring efficiency of lending banks. Leveraging the bipartite structure of the syndicated loan network, the centrality of lead banks positively moderates the relationship between borrowing firms’ network position and their credit availability. Conversely, factors such as the legal system of the bank’s home country, the degree of bank internationalization, and the geographical dispersion of syndicate members exert negative moderating effects. This paper enriches the literature on how bank-firm relational networks influence credit access and offers practical implications for both firms seeking financing and banks making lending decisions.

Key words: syndicated loan, network centrality, corporate credit availability