Monetary easing and the lending concentration channel of monetary policy transmission

I use loan-level data on US mortgage loan applications to identify the effect of lending concentration on the pass-through of the 2008 monetary easing to the volume of lending. Lenders eased credit conditions but less so in counties with higher lending concentration. Furthermore, within a county, the pass-through was lower for lenders with higher local market power. The channel is active also during the 2005 monetary tightening episode. It is distinct from the deposits channel of monetary policy transmission, and its influence is ubiquitous: it affects both new loans and refinances, depository and non-depository lenders, and market leaders and laggards.