Using a comprehensive dataset collected by the Federal Reserve, I find that over one-third of corporate loans issued by US banks are fully guaranteed by legal entities separate from borrowing firms. Using an empirical strategy that accounts for time-varying firm and lender effects, I find that the existence of a third-party credit guarantee is negatively related to loan risk, loan rate, and loan delinquency. Third-party credit guarantees alleviate the effect of collateral constraints in credit market. Firms (particularly smaller firms) that experience a negative shock to their asset values are less likely to use collateral and more likely to use credit guarantees in new borrowings.

中文翻译：

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第三方信用担保与债务成本：来自企业贷款的证据

使用美联储收集的综合数据集，我发现美国银行发行的超过三分之一的公司贷款由独立于借款公司的法人实体提供充分担保。使用考虑时变公司和贷方效应的经验策略，我发现第三方信用担保的存在与贷款风险、贷款利率和贷款拖欠呈负相关。第三方信用担保缓解了信用市场抵押品约束的影响。资产价值受到负面冲击的公司（尤其是小型公司）不太可能使用抵押品，而更有可能在新借款中使用信用担保。