In this article we consider the effects of the inclusion of spatial dependence in the empirical model measuring small cooperative banks' risk performance. In the presence of cross-sectional dependence, spatial analysis deals with co-movement among geographical units, allowing for the evaluation of spillover effects and improving econometric models. The article makes several contributions to the literature. First, we support the hypothesis that the inclusion of spatial terms improves small bank soundness models. Second, with the Z Score used as a proxy for bank soundness, we indirectly test the impacts of relationship lending on small firms, which is a classic tool adopted by small banks to assess the creditworthiness of small firms. Third, since we control for banks' market power, we expand the literature on the relationship between bank risk and market competitive pressure. Finally, we find empirical evidence that bank size does affect the financial standing of small banks.

中文翻译：

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小型合作银行风险行为的空间依赖性及其对银行竞争力和中小企业的影响

在本文中，我们考虑了在衡量小型合作银行风险绩效的经验模型中纳入空间依赖性的影响。在存在横截面依赖性的情况下，空间分析处理地理单位之间的协同运动，从而可以评估溢出效应并改进计量经济模型。这篇文章对文学做出了一些贡献。首先，我们支持包含空间项改善小型银行稳健性模型的假设。二、用Z分数作为银行稳健性的代表，我们间接测试了关系贷款对小企业的影响，这是小银行用来评估小企业信誉的经典工具。第三，由于我们控制了银行的市场力量，我们扩展了关于银行风险与市场竞争压力之间关系的文献。最后，我们发现经验证据表明银行规模确实会影响小银行的财务状况。