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Low interest rates and risk incentives for banks with market power

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  • Whited, Toni M.
  • Wu, Yufeng
  • Xiao, Kairong

Abstract

The interaction between interest rates and banks’ market power generates a motive for bank risk-taking. Low interest rates depress bank profits from the deposit market as competition from cash intensifies. Limited liability and the consequent low bank market value move banks closer to the convex region of their payoff function and thus lead to more risk-taking. We estimate a model that embodies this intuition. We find that when interest rates are low, over 10% of new loans exceed the number that would be optimal in a counterfactual world with no risk-taking incentives.

Suggested Citation

  • Whited, Toni M. & Wu, Yufeng & Xiao, Kairong, 2021. "Low interest rates and risk incentives for banks with market power," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 155-174.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:moneco:v:121:y:2021:i:c:p:155-174
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jmoneco.2021.04.006
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    Cited by:

    1. Silva, Thiago & Souza, Sérgio & Guerra, Solange & Tabak, Benjamin, 2022. "Decentralized Market Power in Credit Markets," MPRA Paper 114766, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Bo Jiang & Hector Tzavellas & Xiaoying Yang, 2022. "Deposit Competition, Interbank Market, and Bank Profit," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-15, April.
    3. Ivashina, Victoria & Laeven, Luc & Moral-Benito, Enrique, 2022. "Loan types and the bank lending channel," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 126(C), pages 171-187.
    4. Van den Heuvel, Skander J., 2021. "Comment on “Low Interest Rates and Risk Incentives for Banks with Market Power,” by Whited, Wu, and Xiao," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 175-179.
    5. Thiago Christiano Silva & Sergio Rubens Stancato de Souza & Solange Maria Guerra, 2021. "COVID-19 and Local Market Power in Credit Markets," Working Papers Series 558, Central Bank of Brazil, Research Department.
    6. Anne Duquerroy & Adrien Matray & Farzad Saidi, 2022. "Tracing Banks’ Credit Allocation to their Funding Costs," Working Papers 309, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Center for Economic Policy Studies..
    7. Wang, Ling & Chen, Kexin & Chiu, Mei Choi & Wong, Hoi Ying, 2023. "Optimal expansion of business opportunity," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 309(1), pages 432-445.
    8. Baolei Qi & Mohamed Marie & Ahmed S. Abdelwahed & Ibrahim N. Khatatbeh & Mohamed Omran & Abdallah A. S. Fayad, 2023. "Bank Risk Literature (1978–2022): A Bibliometric Analysis and Research Front Mapping," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-27, March.
    9. Heider, Florian & Leonello, Agnese, 2021. "Monetary Policy in a Low Interest Rate Environment: Reversal Rate and Risk-Taking," Working Paper Series 2593, European Central Bank.
    10. Thiago Christiano Silva & Sergio Rubens Stancato de Souza & Solange Maria Guerra, 2022. "Covid-19 and market power in local credit markets: the role of digitalization," BIS Working Papers 1017, Bank for International Settlements.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Market power; Bank risk-taking; Liquidity regulation; Low interest rates;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E52 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - Monetary Policy
    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages

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