Unexpectedly severe winter weather, which is arguably exogenous to firm and bank fundamentals, represents a significant cash flow shock for bank-borrowing firms. Firms respond to these shocks by drawing on and increasing the size of their credit lines. Banks charge borrowers for this liquidity via increased interest rates and less borrower-friendly loan provisions. Credit line adjustments occur within one calendar quarter of the shock and persist for at least nine months. Overall, we provide evidence that bank credit lines are an important tool for managing the nonfundamental component of cash flow volatility, especially for solvent, small bank borrowers.

中文翻译：

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抵御现金流冲击

出乎意料的严冬天气，可以说是公司和银行基本面的外生因素，对银行借款公司来说是重大的现金流冲击。公司通过利用和增加信贷额度来应对这些冲击。银行通过提高利率和减少对借款人友好的贷款条款向借款人收取这种流动性费用。信贷额度调整发生在冲击的一个日历季度内，并持续至少九个月。总体而言，我们提供的证据表明，银行信贷额度是管理现金流波动的非基本部分的重要工具，尤其是对有偿付能力的小银行借款人而言。