Does managerial bank relationship network matter corporate resilience? Evidence from the COVID-19 crisis

This study examines the effect of managerial bank relationship networks on corporate resilience to the COVID-19 crisis. We find that managerial bank relationship network helps firms experience fewer losses and recover more quickly during the COVID-19 crisis. We document that managerial bank relationship networks help firms build corporate resilience by facilitating financing accessibility. Further analysis shows that its positive effect is more significant if managers have state-owned bank work experience or have a higher bank hierarchy. Furtherly, the positive effect of the managerial bank relationship network is primarily found in firms with less government support and low marketization regions. These findings provide new insights on enhancing corporate resilience and prompting the bailout policies implementation by stimulating the positive role of managerial bank relationship network.