Is a Friend in Need a Friend Indeed? How Relationship Borrowers Fare during the COVID-19 Crisis

COVID-19 is superior to prior crises for such analysis because its public health and government restrictions shocks directly harm borrowers, rather than banks. Our dataset includes Y-14Q, covering syndicated and non-syndicated loans and small and large firms, unlike some other datasets. We find the dark side of relationships dominates across four relationship measures, 14 COVID-19 shocks, and PPP participation. There are limited pockets of bright-side findings associated with smaller firms and smaller banks.