The European Central Bank has published a working paper finding that firms borrowing from banks brought under direct Single Supervisory Mechanism supervision shifted investment from intangible assets toward more readily collateralized tangible assets. Relative to firms whose banks remained nationally supervised, their intangible asset share declined by as much as 2.7%, while overall investment was broadly unchanged. The study covers 121,394 firms and 1,839 banks in 12 euro area countries from 2009 to 2018. The effect was stronger for small and young firms and in intangible intensive sectors, and sector data showed lower research and development spending where reliance on directly supervised banks was greater. The authors link the shift to reduced corporate lending during the supervisory transition and a persistent tightening of collateral requirements, with affected firms 2.9 to 4.6 percentage points more likely to report higher requirements. The pattern did not predate the reform and was absent in non-SSM jurisdictions used as a comparison.
2026-09-18European Central Bank
European Central Bank publishes study linking supranational bank supervision to lower intangible investment
A European Central Bank working paper finds that firms borrowing from banks brought under direct Single Supervisory Mechanism supervision reduced their share of intangible assets by as much as 2.7% relative to other firms. The shift was strongest among small and young firms and appears linked to lower short-term lending and persistently tighter collateral requirements.