Credit quality and guarantees: How to interpret the Central Credit Register for a better access to credit*

摘要

External guarantees on loans represent an important tool for mitigating the loss given default for a bank, but they are able to produce a negative effect on the firm's probability of default, affecting the overall level of credit risk. The Central Credit Register plays a leading role in determining the rating assigned by banks to firms, typically small and medium enterprises. Firm-level defaulted and in bonis positions, as well as guaranteed and unsecured loans, are compared using 63,377 reports from the Italian Central Credit Register for a period of 36 months, from 2012 to 2015. External guarantees are able to affect the credit quality of loans to small businesses.