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Corporate loans, banks’ internal risk estimates and central bank collateral: evidence from the euro area

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  • Calza, Alessandro
  • Hey, Julius-Benjamin
  • Parrini, Alessandro
  • Sauer, Stephan

Abstract

We use a unique dataset of ratings for euro area corporate loans from commercial banks’ internal rating-based (IRBs) systems and central banks’ in-house credit assessment systems (ICASs) to investigate whether banks’ IRB ratings underestimate the credit risk of their corporate loan portfolios when the latter are used as collateral in the Eurosystem’s monetary policy operations. We are able to identify systematic risk underestimation by comparing the IRB ratings with those produced for the same borrowers by the ICASs. Our results show that while they are on average more conservative than ICASs for the entire population of rated corporate loans, IRBs are significantly less conservative than ICASs for those loans that are actually used as Eurosystem collateral, particularly for large loans. The less conservative estimates of risk by IRBs relative to ICASs can be partly explained by banks’ liquidity constraints, but not by their degree of capitalisation. Overall, our findings suggest the existence of a collateral-related channel through which the use of IRB ratings may influence the internal estimation of risk by banks. JEL Classification: G21, G28

Suggested Citation

  • Calza, Alessandro & Hey, Julius-Benjamin & Parrini, Alessandro & Sauer, Stephan, 2021. "Corporate loans, banks’ internal risk estimates and central bank collateral: evidence from the euro area," Working Paper Series 2579, European Central Bank.
  • Handle: RePEc:ecb:ecbwps:20212579
    Note: 338639
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Mariathasan, Mike & Merrouche, Ouarda, 2014. "The manipulation of basel risk-weights," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 23(3), pages 300-321.
    2. Berg, Tobias & Koziol, Philipp, 2017. "An analysis of the consistency of banks’ internal ratings," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 27-41.
    3. Berger, Allen N. & Udell, Gregory F., 1990. "Collateral, loan quality and bank risk," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 25(1), pages 21-42, January.
    4. Carey, Mark, 2002. "A guide to choosing absolute bank capital requirements," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 26(5), pages 929-951, May.
    5. Taylor A. Begley & Amiyatosh Purnanandam & Kuncheng Zheng, 2017. "The Strategic Underreporting of Bank Risk," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 30(10), pages 3376-3415.
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    Cited by:

    1. Auria, Laura & Bingmer, Markus & Graciano, Carlos Mateo Caicedo & Charavel, Clémence & Gavilá, Sergio & Iannamorelli, Alessandra & Levy, Aviram & Maldonado, Alfredo & Resch, Florian & Rossi, Anna Mari, 2021. "Overview of central banks’ in-house credit assessment systems in the euro area," Occasional Paper Series 284, European Central Bank.
    2. Laura Auria & Markus Bingmer & Carlos Mateo Caicedo Graciano & Clémence Charavel & Sergio Gavilá & Alessandra Iannamorelli & Aviram Levy & Alfredo Maldonado & Florian Resch & Anna Maria Rossi & Step, 2021. "Overview of central banks’ in-house credit assessment systems in the euro area," Mercati, infrastrutture, sistemi di pagamento (Markets, Infrastructures, Payment Systems) 13, Bank of Italy, Directorate General for Markets and Payment System.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    banking regulation; central bank liquidity; internal ratings; probability of default;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages
    • G28 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Government Policy and Regulation

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