Building Relationships Early: Banks in Venture Capital

Abstract

This paper examines bank behavior in venture capital. It considers the relationship between a bank's venture capital investments and its subsequent lending, which can be thought of as intertemporal cross-selling. Theory suggests that unlike independent venture capital firms, banks may be strategic investors who seek complementarities between venture capital and lending activities. We find evidence that banks use venture capital investments to build lending relationships. Having a prior relationship with a company in the venture capital market increases a bank's chance of subsequently making a loan to that company. Companies can benefit from these relationships through more favorable loan pricing.