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The changing U.S. financial system : some implications for the monetary transmission mechanism

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  • Gordon H. Sellon, Jr.
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    Abstract

    An important part of monetary policy is the monetary transmission mechanism, the process by which monetary policy actions influence the economy. While the transmission mechanism involves a number of channels, including exchange rates, bank credit, and asset prices, most economists consider interest rates to be the principal avenue by which monetary policy affects economic activity.> In recent decades, significant changes in the structure of financial markets and institutions in the United States may have altered the interest rate channel. Key developments include the deregulation of the financial system, the growth of capital markets as an alternative to bank intermediation, increased competition among intermediaries both domestically and internationally, and greater transparency by the Federal Reserve about monetary policy operations. These changes may have altered both the timing and magnitude of the response of interest rates to monetary policy. Indeed, the failure of long-term interest rates to respond to monetary policy easing during the past year has been cited in the financial press as an indication that monetary policy may now have less influence on interest rates than in the past.> Sellon examines how the changing financial system has affected the interest rate channel of monetary policy. He finds that the response of interest rates to monetary policy, rather than diminishing, has actually increased considerably over time. Indeed, bank lending rates on consumer and business loans and mortgage rates now appear to exhibit a much stronger and faster response to monetary policy actions than in the past. Moreover, institutional changes, such as the increased use of variable-rate loans and the availability of low-cost mortgage refinancing, may have altered the transmission mechanism, potentially broadening the influence of monetary policy on the economy.

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    Bibliographic Info

    Article provided by Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City in its journal Economic Review.

    Volume (Year): (2002)
    Issue (Month): Q I ()
    Pages: 5-35

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    Handle: RePEc:fip:fedker:y:2002:i:qi:p:5-35:n:v.87no.1

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    Keywords: Monetary policy ; Financial markets ; Interest rates;

    References

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    1. Angeliki Kourelis & Carlo Cottarelli, 1994. "Financial Structure, Bank Lending Rates, and the Transmission Mechanism of Monetary Policy," IMF Working Papers 94/39, International Monetary Fund.
    2. Goodfriend, Marvin, 1986. "Monetary mystique: Secrecy and central banking," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 17(1), pages 63-92, January.
    3. Loretta J. Mester & Anthony Saunders, 1990. "When does the prime rate change?," Working Papers 90-16, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.
    4. Gordon H. Sellon, Jr., 1994. "Measuring monetary policy," Research Working Paper 94-12, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.
    5. Victor Stango, 2000. "Competition And Pricing In The Credit Card Market," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 82(3), pages 499-508, August.
    6. Duca, John V., 1996. "Deposit Deregulation and the Sensitivity of Housing," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 5(3), pages 207-226, September.
    7. Steven Todd, 2001. "The Effects of Securitization on Consumer Mortgage Costs," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 29(1), pages 29-54.
    8. Nabar, Prafulla G & Park, Sang Yong & Saunders, Anthony, 1993. "Prime Rate Changes: Is There an Advantage in Being First?," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 66(1), pages 69-92, January.
    9. Benoît Mojon, 2000. "Financial structure and the interest rate channel of ECB monetary policy," Working Paper Series 40, European Central Bank.
    10. Forbes, Shawn M. & Mayne, Lucille S., 1989. "A friction model of the prime," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 13(1), pages 127-135, March.
    11. Michael J. Dueker, 2000. "Are prime rate changes asymmetric?," Review, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, issue Sep, pages 33-40.
    12. Ausubel, Lawrence M, 1991. "The Failure of Competition in the Credit Card Market," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 81(1), pages 50-81, March.
    13. Rudebusch, Glenn D., 1995. "Federal Reserve interest rate targeting, rational expectations, and the term structure," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 35(2), pages 245-274, April.
    14. Joe Lange & Brian Sack & William Whitesell, 2001. "Anticipations of monetary policy in financial markets," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2001-24, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    15. Alfred Broaddus, Jr., 2001. "Transparency in the practice of monetary policy," Economic Quarterly, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, issue Sum, pages 1-9.
    16. Carlo Cottarelli & Angeliki Kourelis, 1994. "Financial Structure, Bank Lending Rates, and the Transmission Mechanism of Monetary Policy," IMF Staff Papers, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 41(4), pages 587-623, December.
    17. George A. Kahn, 1989. "The changing interest sensitivity of the U.S. economy," Economic Review, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, issue Nov, pages 13-34.
    18. Guthrie, Graeme & Wright, Julian, 2000. "Open mouth operations," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 46(2), pages 489-516, October.
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    Cited by:
    1. Xin Long & Mangal Goswami & Andreas Jobst, 2009. "An Investigation of Some Macro-Financial Linkages of Securitization," IMF Working Papers 09/26, International Monetary Fund.
    2. Robert M. Adams & Dean F. Amel, 2005. "The effects of local banking market structure on the banking-lending channel of monetary policy," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2005-16, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    3. Solange Berstein & J. Rodrigo Fuentes, 2004. "Is There Lendign Rate Stickiness in the Chilean Banking Industry?," Central Banking, Analysis, and Economic Policies Book Series, in: Luis Antonio Ahumada & J. Rodrigo Fuentes & Norman Loayza (Series Editor) & Klaus Schmidt-Hebbel (Se (ed.), Banking Market Structure and Monetary Policy, edition 1, volume 7, chapter 6, pages 183-210 Central Bank of Chile.
    4. Grégory Levieuge & Alexis Penot, 2008. "The Fed and the ECB: Why such an apparent difference in reactivity?," Post-Print halshs-00239381, HAL.
    5. N. Kundan Kishor, 2007. "Does Consumption Respond More to Housing Wealth Than to Financial Market Wealth? If So, Why?," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 35(4), pages 427-448, November.

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