Rebel Cole, Ph.D.

Lynn Eminent Scholar Endowed Professor of Finance

  • Boca Raton FL UNITED STATES
  • Department of Finance

Rebel Cole, Ph.D., is a former fed staff economist and an expert in financial institutions, real estate, and small-businesses.

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Spotlight

2 min

Is America's banking system in trouble once again?

Nerves are rattled and many are worried as the markets opened Monday to news of another US bank collapse, making that two large banks shuttered in less than a week.It's news that's rocking the financial world on a massive scale.Federal regulators announced on Sunday that another bank had been closed and that the government would ensure that all depositors of Silicon Valley Bank — which failed Friday — would be paid back in full as Washington rushed to keep fallout from the collapse of the large institution from sweeping through the financial system.The Federal Reserve, Treasury and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation announced in a joint statement that “depositors will have access to all of their money starting Monday, March 13.” In an attempt to assuage concerns about who would bear the costs, the agencies said that “no losses associated with the resolution of Silicon Valley Bank will be borne by the taxpayer.”  March 12 New York TimesWith an economy already on edge as Americans feel the grip of inflation and worries of recession this is frightening news and media are scrambling for answers.What is causing the closures of these big banks and how many more will follow?How much money is lost and how much has been protected?Is this 2008 all over again? Is the federal government doing enough to stop the damage from spreading?What measures need to be put in place by government to assure citizens that their savings, retirement plans and mortgages aren't at risk?And will anyone be held accountable for the billions already lost?There's a lot to explain and that's where our experts can help.Rebel Cole, Ph.D., a Lynn Eminent Scholar Chaired Professor of Finance, has expertise in global financial institutions, commercial banking and small business finance. He spent 10 years working in the Federal Reserve System and has experience at the the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. Cole has been interviewed by numerous national media outlets, such as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post and Fox Business.Rebel is available to speak to media regarding the current state of banking and what Americans need to watch for or worry about. Simply click on his icon now to arrange an interview today.

Rebel Cole, Ph.D.

1 min

FAU College of Business Experts Available to Discuss May Unemployment Numbers

Professors in Florida Atlantic University’s College of Business are available to discuss U.S. unemployment figures that are scheduled to be released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday, June 5. The U.S. unemployment rate jumped to 14.7 percent in April in response to the coronavirus pandemic. It’s the highest level since the Great Depression, and analysts fear it could be years before the economy fully recovers.  If you are a journalist covering this important story about employment and the economy of Florida and America  – let our experts help.Rebel Cole, Ph.D., a Lynn Eminent Scholar Chaired Professor of Finance, has expertise in financial institutions, commercial banking and small business finance. He spent 10 years working in the Federal Reserve System. Cole has been interviewed by numerous national media outlets, such as The Wall Street Journal and The Palm Beach Post.  William Luther, Ph.D., an assistant professor in FAU’s Economics Department, has expertise in economic growth, monetary policies, business cycles and cryptocurrencies. He has authored more than two dozen articles. Luther’s research has obtained media interest across the nation, including recent coverage by Politico and Florida Trend. Both Professor Cole and Luther are available to speak with media – simply click on either expert’s icon to arrange an interview today.

Rebel Cole, Ph.D.William Luther, Ph.D.

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Biography

Rebel Cole, Ph.D., is the Lynn Eminent Scholar Chaired Professor of Finance in the College of Business at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Florida. Previously, he has taught at DePaul University in Chicago, UNSW in Sydney and the University of Auckland in New Zealand. He received his Ph.D. in business administration from the University of North Carolina in 1988, after which he spent 10 years working as a financial economist in the Federal Reserve System.

Cole is a special advisor to the Asian Development Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and other non-governmental organizations, providing training and technical assistance to central banks around the world in more than 60 countries.

Cole has published peer-reviewed articles in top academic journals that include the Journal of Finance, the Journal of Financial Economics, the Journal of Financial & Quantitative Analysis, the Journal of Corporate Finance, the Journal of Banking & Finance, the Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics and Real Estate Economics. His primary areas of research are commercial banking, commercial real estate, corporate governance, entrepreneurship, and financial institutions. Many of his papers use sophisticated survival models to analyze the factors explaining the failures of banks and small businesses.

According to Google Scholar, his works have been cited by other scholars more than 11,000 times. According to Scopus, his works have been cited more than 2,500 times. Most of his research papers are available for download from his webpages at http://www.rebelcole.com.

Cole is a frequent commentator in the financial press. He has been quoted in, or appeared on: Accounting Today, the American Banker, the Bloomberg Businessweek, CNN Money, Fox Business News, the Huffington Post, the New York Times, National Public Radio, the PBS Nightly Business Report, the Street.com, the Voice of America, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, WTTW’s Chicago Tonight, and Yahoo Finance.

Areas of Expertise

Small Business Finance
Financial Institutions
Commercial Banking
Corporate Governance
Real Estate

Education

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Ph.D.

Finance

1998

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

B.A.

Economics

1981

Selected Media Appearances

Small Banks Are Losing to Big Banks. Their Customers Are About to Feel It.

The Wall Street Journal  

2023-03-30

Those banks are “the heart and soul of small-business lending,” said Rebel Cole, a professor of finance at Florida Atlantic University.
Banks with less than $10 billion in assets accounted for nearly 43% of small loans to businesses outstanding at the end of 2022, according to Prof. Cole’s analysis of federal banking data. The 13 largest banks, by contrast, accounted for less than 23% of small- business loans, much of which represents credit-card balances, he said.

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Elon Musk’s bank loans show the divide in American finance

Financial Times  

2022-04-30

The changes in lending practices have been particularly pronounced in the years after the financial crisis. Bank lending increased to bigger businesses, but not to smaller ones, according to statistics compiled by Rebel Cole, a former Federal Reserve Board staff economist who is now a finance professor at Florida Atlantic University. By his count, the total stock of business loans of more than $1mn at US banks rose from $1.44tn in 2010 to $2.75tn in 2019 (the last year before data was skewed by the pandemic). By contrast, total loans of under $1mn fell from $652bn to $645bn.

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Floridians Fared Worst in Study of Pandemic Unemployment Relief

Bloomberg Law  

2020-10-15

“Florida’s UI computer system, like those in many other states, crumbled under the onslaught of UI filings after the lockdown was implemented in March,” said Rebel Cole, a business and finance professor at Florida Atlantic University who studies unemployment trends.

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Selected Articles

How Did the Financial Crisis Affect Small-business Lending in the United States?

The Journal of Financial Research

Rebel A. Cole,Jason Damm

2020

We analyze changes in lending by U.S. banks to businesses from 1994 to 2011. We find that lending to businesses, and in particular to small businesses, declined precipitously following onset of the financial crisis. We also examine the relative changes in business lending by banks that did, and did not, receive Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) funds from the U.S. Treasury, and find that banks receiving capital injections from the TARP failed to increase their small-business lending. Finally, we find strong and significant positive relations of both bank capital adequacy and profitability with small-business lending.

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Changes in Personal Bankruptcy Protection Laws: The Impact on Bank Lending to Small Businesses

SSRN

Jason Damm, Masim Suleymanov, Rebel A. Cole

2020

In the U.S., individuals who file for bankruptcy can protect certain property from creditor liquidation during the debt settlement process. We find that additional property protection, brought about by changes to personal bankruptcy laws, reduces credit availability for small businesses. Particularly in the sample of large loans greater than $100,000, which are the most at risk of loss in case of default. This impact is more severe during times of financial crisis when bankruptcy rates rise. Changes to bankruptcy protection laws also have real economic consequences for small business activity, leading to lower wages and fewer establishments per capita.

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Debt financing, survival, and growth of start-up firms☆

Journal of Corporate Finance

Rebel A. Cole, Tatyana Sokolyk

2018

We analyze the relation between different forms of debt financing at the firm's start-up and subsequent firm outcomes. We distinguish between business debt, obtained in the name of the firm, and personal debt, obtained in the name of the firm's owner and used to finance the start-up firm. Start-up firms with better performance prospects are more likely to use debt and, in particular, business debt. Compared to all-equity firms, firms using debt at the initial year of operations are significantly more likely to survive and achieve higher levels of revenue three years after the firm's start-up. However, results hold for business debt only. Debt obtained in the name of the firm is associated with longer survival time and higher revenues, while debt obtained in the name of the firm's owner has no effect on survival time and is associated with lower revenues.

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