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Did Negative Interest Rates Improve Bank Lending?

Author

Listed:
  • Phil Molyneux

    (University of Sharjah, UAE)

  • Alessio Reghezza

    (Bangor University)

  • John Thornton

    (US Department of the Treasury)

  • Ru Xie

    (University of Bath)

Abstract

Since 2012 several central banks have introduced a negative interest rate policy (NIRP) aimed at boosting real spending by facilitating an increase in the supply and demand for bank loans. We employ a bank-level dataset comprising 6558 banks from 33 OECD member countries over 2012–2016 and a matched difference-in-differences estimator to analyze whether NIRP resulted in a change in bank lending in NIRP-adopter countries compared to those that did not adopt the policy. Our results suggest that following the introduction of negative interest rates, bank lending was weaker in NIRP-adopter countries. The result is robust to a wide range of checks. This adverse NIRP effect appears to have been stronger for banks that were smaller, more dependent on retail deposit funding, less well capitalized, had business models reliant on interest income, and operated in more competitive markets.

Suggested Citation

  • Phil Molyneux & Alessio Reghezza & John Thornton & Ru Xie, 2020. "Did Negative Interest Rates Improve Bank Lending?," Journal of Financial Services Research, Springer;Western Finance Association, vol. 57(1), pages 51-68, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jfsres:v:57:y:2020:i:1:d:10.1007_s10693-019-00322-8
    DOI: 10.1007/s10693-019-00322-8
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    2. Boungou, Whelsy & Hubert, Paul, 2021. "The channels of banks’ response to negative interest rates," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 131(C).
    3. Boungou, Whelsy, 2021. "Empirical evidence of the lending channel of monetary policy under negative interest rates," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 309-318.
    4. Nikolaos Petrakis & Christos Lemonakis & Christos Floros & Constantin Zopounidis, 2024. "The impact of the ECB’s non-regular operations on bank credit: cross-country evidence," Operational Research, Springer, vol. 24(3), pages 1-37, September.
    5. Bongiovanni, Alessio & Reghezza, Alessio & Santamaria, Riccardo & Williams, Jonathan, 2021. "Do negative interest rates affect bank risk-taking?," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 350-364.
    6. Shikimi, Masayo, 2023. "Risk-taking and bank competition under a low interest rate environment: Evidence from loan-level data," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    7. Avignone, Giuseppe & Girardone, Claudia & Pancaro, Cosimo & Pancotto, Livia & Reghezza, Alessio, 2022. "Making a virtue out of necessity: the effect of negative interest rates on bank cost efficiency," Working Paper Series 2718, European Central Bank.
    8. Burietz, Aurore & Picault, Matthieu, 2023. "To lend or not to lend? The ECB as the ‘intermediary of last resort’," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 122(C).
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    10. Ramona Busch & Helge C. N. Littke & Christoph Memmel & Simon Niederauer, 2022. "German banks’ behavior in the low interest rate environment," Financial Markets and Portfolio Management, Springer;Swiss Society for Financial Market Research, vol. 36(3), pages 267-296, September.
    11. Luis Brandao-Marques & Marco Casiraghi & Gaston Gelos & Gunes Kamber & Roland Meeks, 2021. "Negative Interest Rate Policies: Taking Stock of the Experience So Far," CESifo Forum, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 22(06), pages 27-32, November.
    12. Dan Costin NIȚESCU & Adina Elena CĂLIN & Eugen-Marian VIERESCU, 2024. "Performance and risk – a changing and complex relationship for banking business," Theoretical and Applied Economics, Asociatia Generala a Economistilor din Romania / Editura Economica, vol. 0(2(639), S), pages 5-24, Summer.
    13. López-Penabad, Maria Celia & Iglesias-Casal, Ana & Silva Neto, José Fernando, 2022. "Effects of a negative interest rate policy in bank profitability and risk taking: Evidence from European banks," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Negative interest rates; Monetary policy transmission; Bank lending; Difference in differences estimation; Propensity score matching;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E43 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Interest Rates: Determination, Term Structure, and Effects
    • E44 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Financial Markets and the Macroeconomy
    • 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
    • F34 - International Economics - - International Finance - - - International Lending and Debt Problems

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