Politically Polarized Depositors

58 Pages Posted: 2 Aug 2021 Last revised: 19 Dec 2024

See all articles by Jinoug Jeung

Jinoug Jeung

The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Date Written: April 18, 2024

Abstract

Exploiting a shock drawing public attention to banks’ financial relationships with the gun industry, I find that banks that lend to the gun industry experience significant decreases in deposit growth. The effect is stronger in regions with more Democrats or higher support for gun control. Anti-gun depositor movements raise funding costs for gun-lending banks and thus reduce their lending business, which coincides with slower growth in gun business establishments. Moreover, I find evidence that banks with public anti-gun policies also experience reduced deposit growth, specifically in regions with more Republicans or higher support for gun rights.

Keywords: Depositor behavior, Financial activism, ESG, Political value

JEL Classification: G21, G41, M14

Suggested Citation

Jeung, Jinoug, Politically Polarized Depositors (April 18, 2024). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3896745 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3896745

Jinoug Jeung (Contact Author)

The Chinese University of Hong Kong ( email )

Cheng Yu Tung Building
12 Chak Cheung Street
Shatin, New Territories
Hong Kong

Do you have a job opening that you would like to promote on SSRN?

Paper statistics

Downloads
527
Abstract Views
7,007
Rank
113,628
PlumX Metrics