El traspaso de tasas de interés en el sistema bancario uruguayo

Banking interest rates are closely related to monetary policy transmission than overnight interest rates. Since overnight interest rates are used as policy instrument since September 2007 by Uruguayan Central Bank, it is important to quantify the extent to which overnight interest rates are transmitted to banking interest rates. This paper quantifies the interest rate pass-through, both in the long and the short run, considering the structural changes observed in the underlying economic structure, and controlling for the fundamentals of financial intermediation margins. I find a significant pass-through from overnight interest rates to banking interest rates denominated in domestic currency but no significant pass-through to those denominated in foreign currency. I also find a notorious reduction in the level and the speed of the pass-through since the adoption of quantitative monetary target, and a positive correlation between financial margins and aggregate macroeconomic risk perception. The apparent reduction in the interest rate passthrough since 2004 represent a challenge for conducting monetary policy under a flexible inflation targeting regime.