Panel A of Table 6 shows the findings for the spatial segmentation.
Model (1) refers to the non-overlapping 2-digit ZIP code segmentation
and model (2) to the overlapping 5-digit ZIP code
segmentation. The result is clear and consistent across both spatial
segmentations. The greater the improvement of the accuracy ratio
due to the additional consideration of business credit information
the lower is the realized default rate, which is consistent with
hypothesis H4. The negative coefficient of DAR is significant at
the 1%-level. This result establishes the link between our previous
results and evidence from related studies. We document that the
improvement in ex ante credit quality assessments that arises from
business credit information sharing is associated with lower realized
default rates in the same geographic area.