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Economic policy uncertainty and non-performing loans: The moderating role of bank concentration

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  • Karadima, Maria
  • Louri, Helen

Abstract

Following the financial and debt crises in the euro area and the delays in formulating a cohesive policy response, banks faced serious problems with the increase in non-performing loans (NPLs) being the most threatening. Economic policy uncertainty (EPU) has often been blamed for initiating and propagating NPLs. In this study, we attempt to estimate empirically if EPU has a significant effect on NPLs and if this effect can be restrained by another legacy of the crisis, namely bank concentration. By employing a panel dataset of 507 banks from four major euro area countries (France, Germany, Italy and Spain) during the period 2005–2017, we find that EPU has a positive impact on NPLs but this impact is significantly moderated by higher bank concentration.

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  • Karadima, Maria & Louri, Helen, 2021. "Economic policy uncertainty and non-performing loans: The moderating role of bank concentration," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 38(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:finlet:v:38:y:2021:i:c:s1544612319312802
    DOI: 10.1016/j.frl.2020.101458
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    Cited by:

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    3. Zeqiraj, Veton & Gurdgiev, Constantin & Sohag, Kazi & Hammoudeh, Shawkat, 2024. "Economic uncertainty, public debt and non-performing loans in the Eurozone: Three systemic crises," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    4. Ingrid-Mihaela Dragotă & Cosmin Octavian Cepoi & Lavinia Ştefan, 2023. "Threshold effect for the life insurance industry: evidence from OECD countries," The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance - Issues and Practice, Palgrave Macmillan;The Geneva Association, vol. 48(4), pages 799-820, October.
    5. Chafic Saliba & Panteha Farmanesh & Seyed Alireza Athari, 2023. "Does country risk impact the banking sectors’ non-performing loans? Evidence from BRICS emerging economies," Financial Innovation, Springer;Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, vol. 9(1), pages 1-30, December.
    6. Karadima, Maria & Louri, Helen, 2021. "Determinants of non-performing loans in Greece: the intricate role of fiscal expansion," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 110741, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    7. Van Dan Dang & Hoang Chung Nguyen, 2022. "Uncertainty And Bank Funding Liquidity Risk In Vietnam," Economic Annals, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Belgrade, vol. 67(234), pages 29-54, July – Se.
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    9. González, Marta Ramos & Ureña, Antonio Partal & Fernández-Aguado, Pilar Gómez, 2023. "Forecasting for regulatory credit loss derived from the COVID-19 pandemic: A machine learning approach," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
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    13. Dang, Van Dan & Nguyen, Hoang Chung, 2022. "Bank profitability under uncertainty," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 119-134.
    14. Shabir, Mohsin & Jiang, Ping & Bakhsh, Satar & Zhao, Zhongxiu, 2021. "Economic policy uncertainty and bank stability: Threshold effect of institutional quality and competition," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    15. Wang, Rui & Luo, Hang (Robin), 2022. "How does financial inclusion affect bank stability in emerging economies?," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 51(PA).
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    17. Kishwar Ali & Hu Hongbing & Chee Yoong Liew & Du Jianguo, 2023. "Governance perspective and the effect of economic policy uncertainty on financial stability: evidence from developed and developing economies," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 56(3), pages 1971-2002, June.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Non-performing loans; Economic policy uncertainty; Bank concentration;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C23 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Models with Panel Data; Spatio-temporal Models
    • D80 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - General
    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages

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