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Fixed rate versus adjustable rate mortgages: Evidence from euro area banks

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  • Albertazzi, Ugo
  • Fringuellotti, Fulvia
  • Ongena, Steven

Abstract

Why do residential mortgages carry a fixed or an adjustable interest rate? To answer this question we study unique data from 103 banks belonging to 73 different banking groups across twelve countries in the euro area. To explain the large cross-country and time variations observed, we distinguish between household conditions that determine the local demand for credit and the characteristics of banks that supply credit. As bank funding mostly occurs at the group level, we disentangle these two sets of factors by comparing the outcome observed for the same banking group across the different countries. Local household conditions dominate. In particular we find that the share of new loans with a fixed rate is larger when: (1) the historical volatility of inflation is lower, (2) the correlation between unemployment and the short-term interest rate is higher, (3) households’ financial literacy is lower, and (4) the use of local mortgages to back covered bonds and of mortgage-backed securities is more widespread.

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  • Albertazzi, Ugo & Fringuellotti, Fulvia & Ongena, Steven, 2024. "Fixed rate versus adjustable rate mortgages: Evidence from euro area banks," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:eecrev:v:161:y:2024:i:c:s0014292123002714
    DOI: 10.1016/j.euroecorev.2023.104643
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    1. Stephen Kho, 2023. "Deposit market concentration and monetary transmission: evidence from the euro area," Working Papers 790, DNB.
    2. Giancarlo Corsetti & Joao B. Duarte & Samuel Mann, 2020. "One Money, Many Markets: Monetary Transmission and Housing Financing in the Euro Area," IMF Working Papers 2020/108, International Monetary Fund.
    3. Ahn, Kwangwon & Forsyth, Joetta & Jang, Hanwool & Kim, Dongshin, 2022. "Fixed rate mortgages: The cost of interest rate risk aversion," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 44(C).
    4. Sangyup Choi & Kimoon Jeong & Jiseob Kim, 2024. "Asymmetric Mortgage Channel of Monetary Policy: Refinancing as a Call Option," Working papers 2024rwp-228, Yonsei University, Yonsei Economics Research Institute.
    5. Willem Vanlaer & Mattia Picarelli & Wim Marneffe, 2021. "Debt and Private Investment: Does the EU Suffer from a Debt Overhang?," Open Economies Review, Springer, vol. 32(4), pages 789-820, September.
    6. Dieckelmann, Daniel & Hempell, Hannah S. & Jarmulska, Barbara & Lang, Jan Hannes & Rusnák, Marek, 2023. "House prices and ultra-low interest rates: exploring the non-linear nexus," Working Paper Series 2789, European Central Bank.
    7. Peter Hoffmann & Sam Langfield & Federico Pierobon & Guillaume Vuillemey, 2019. "Who Bears Interest Rate Risk?," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 32(8), pages 2921-2954.
    8. Guiso, Luigi & Pozzi, Andrea & Tsoy, Anton & Gambacorta, Leonardo & Mistrulli, Paolo Emilio, 2022. "The cost of steering in financial markets: Evidence from the mortgage market," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 143(3), pages 1209-1226.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Fixed rate versus adjustable rate mortgages; European banks; Household finance;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F23 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - Multinational Firms; International Business
    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages
    • G41 - Financial Economics - - Behavioral Finance - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making in Financial Markets

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