Secular change pressures in UK corporate bank lending

This thesis examines the question of the existence of banks as financial intermediaries. It is apparent in UK corporate bank lending that there is a long-term secular decline which is reducing the scale and affecting the form of such lending and which is inducing a redefinition of the role of banks in the financial system. In the final analysis banks exist as a response to market imperfections: scale economies; information asymmetries; monitoring reputation; control facilities; and commitment abilities. These provide alternative conditions defining banks, their position in the financial system and their comparative advantages. [Continues.]