House prices and bank lending to SMEs: evidence from UK local authorities

Using panel data for 304 local authorities in the UK from 2014 to 2021, we empirically examine three issues: (a) how booms in house prices affect bank lending to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs); (b) whether these effects differ when SMEs hold larger amounts of real estate and buildings and (c) whether a rise in house prices can cause capital flight from the SME loan market to mortgages in the housing sector.

We find that (i) a rise in house prices crowds out SME lending; (ii) mortgage lending increases with house prices; (iii) the crowding out effect of rising house prices on SME lending is mitigated when SMEs hold larger amounts of real estate and buildings.

The main macroeconomic implication is that a strong housing market exerts negative spillover effects on the SME sector by moving capital away from SME lending towards housing mortgages.