Does it pay to be Green? The impact of equator principles on project loans
研究采用赤道原则的银行（绿色银行）是否给借款企业带来更低贷款利差等经济好处，发现确实有好处，但若政策强制所有企业都找绿色银行，则利差优惠消失。
Some financial institutions voluntarily adopt the Equator Principles, requiring them to monitor the environmental and social (ESG) impacts of projects they finance. We investigate the incidence of these costs on corporate borrowers, as well as evidence of benefits in the form of improved loan terms. Using detailed international loan data, we find that borrowers dealing with green banks derive several economic benefits including lower loan spreads. We argue that dealing with ‘green banks’ allows firms to signal their ESG commitment and can help them manage ex post ESG-related risk. The empirical approach also addresses endogeneity concerns. We document other benefits including greater lender participation and the support of Multilateral Development Banks. Our counterfactual analysis, however, shows that if regulatory changes were to encourage working with green banks, firms that only deal with them as a result of the policy would not obtain lower loan spreads.