IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jecomi/v13y2025i6p161-d1672205.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Bank Profitability in Times of Quantitative Easing: The Role of Central Bank Transparency

Author

Listed:
  • Athanasios Koukouridis

    (Department of Economics, School of Social, Political and Economic Sciences, Democritus University of Thrace, 69132 Komotini, Greece)

Abstract

To stabilize economies, central banks implemented unconventional monetary policies like quantitative easing following the global financial crisis. Although much research has been done on how quantitative easing affects financial markets, the influence of central bank transparency on bank profitability under such policies is still underexplored. This paper looks at how central bank transparency affects bank profitability in advanced countries under unconventional monetary policy. Using a panel dataset of commercial banks from 25 advanced economies (2013–2019), we apply a two-step Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) estimator to handle any endogeneity. Focusing on central bank transparency as a main transmission route, the model accounts for macroeconomic factors and bank-specific characteristics. The results show that central bank transparency greatly improves bank profitability together with quantitative easing. Although other elements, macroeconomic conditions and bank-specific characteristics, support transparency as a vital channel via which monetary policy influences the operation of the banking sector. This paper provides recommendations for legislators trying to enhance the effectiveness of unconventional policies in various institutional contexts by highlighting the need for central bank transparency as a channel for monetary policy efficacy.

Suggested Citation

  • Athanasios Koukouridis, 2025. "Bank Profitability in Times of Quantitative Easing: The Role of Central Bank Transparency," Economies, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-35, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jecomi:v:13:y:2025:i:6:p:161-:d:1672205
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7099/13/6/161/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7099/13/6/161/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Mary E. Barth & Wayne R. Landsman & Mark H. Lang, 2008. "International Accounting Standards and Accounting Quality," Journal of Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 46(3), pages 467-498, June.
    2. Gomez, Matthieu & Landier, Augustin & Sraer, David & Thesmar, David, 2021. "Banks’ exposure to interest rate risk and the transmission of monetary policy," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 543-570.
    3. Nuraini Yuanita, 2019. "Competition and bank profitability," Journal of Economic Structures, Springer;Pan-Pacific Association of Input-Output Studies (PAPAIOS), vol. 8(1), pages 1-15, December.
    4. Provopoulos, George A., 2014. "The Greek Economy and Banking System: Recent Developments and the Way Forward," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 39(PB), pages 240-249.
    5. Brett W. Fawley & Christopher J. Neely, 2013. "Four stories of quantitative easing," Review, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, issue Jan, pages 51-88.
    6. H. Semih Yildirim & George Philippatos, 2007. "Efficiency of Banks: Recent Evidence from the Transition Economies of Europe, 1993-2000," The European Journal of Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 13(2), pages 123-143.
    7. Goldberg, Lawrence G. & Rai, Anoop, 1996. "The structure-performance relationship for European banking," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 20(4), pages 745-771, May.
    8. Ben S. Bernanke, 2020. "The New Tools of Monetary Policy," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 110(4), pages 943-983, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Al-Gasaymeh, Anwar, 2016. "Bank efficiency determinant: Evidence from the gulf cooperation council countries," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 214-223.
    2. Kozak Sylwester & Wierzbowska Agata, 2021. "Banking Market Concentration and Bank Efficiency. Evidence from Southern, Eastern and Central Europe," South East European Journal of Economics and Business, Sciendo, vol. 16(1), pages 38-52, June.
    3. Kanda, Joana F. & Pinto, João M. & Silva, Beatriz P., 2025. "The ECB’s APP’s impact on non-financial firms’ cost of borrowing and debt choice," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    4. Mamatzakis, Emmanuel & Bermpei, Theodora, 2016. "What is the effect of unconventional monetary policy on bank performance?," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 239-263.
    5. Anwar Al-Gasaymeh & Miral R. Samarah, 2023. "Does Country Risk Affect Banking Efficiency: Empirical Evidence from Turkey and Selected Countries from the European Union," Global Business Review, International Management Institute, vol. 24(6), pages 1401-1417, December.
    6. Yahyaei, Hamid & Singh, Abhay & Smith, Tom, 2025. "Ex ante bond returns and time-varying monotonicity," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    7. Miroslav Mateev & Muhammad Usman Tariq & Ahmad Sahyouni, 2023. "Efficiency, market concentration and bank performance during the COVID-19 outbreak: Evidence from the MENA region," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 18(5), pages 1-34, May.
    8. Choi, Sun-Yong & Phiri, Andrew & Teplova, Tamara & Umar, Zaghum, 2024. "Connectedness between (un)conventional monetary policy and islamic and advanced equity markets: A returns and volatility spillover analysis," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 348-363.
    9. Tim Congdon, 2021. "Can central banks run out of ammunition? The role of the money‐equities‐interaction channel in monetary policy," Economic Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(1), pages 21-37, February.
    10. Constanza Martínez Ventura, 2005. "Una revisión empírica sobre los determinantes del margen de intermediación en Colombia, 1989-2003," Revista ESPE - Ensayos sobre Política Económica, Banco de la Republica de Colombia, vol. 23(48), pages 118-183, Junio.
    11. Samuel, Sajay & Manassian, Armond, 2011. "The rise and coming fall of international accounting research," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 22(6), pages 608-627.
    12. Petr Korab & Jitka Pomenkova, 2017. "Credit Rationing in Greece During and After the Financial Crisis," Czech Journal of Economics and Finance (Finance a uver), Charles University Prague, Faculty of Social Sciences, vol. 67(2), pages 119-139, April.
    13. José Ramón Sánchez-Serrano & David Alaminos & Francisco García-Lagos & Angela M. Callejón-Gil, 2020. "Predicting Audit Opinion in Consolidated Financial Statements with Artificial Neural Networks," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 8(8), pages 1-14, August.
    14. Inda Mulaahmetovic, 2022. "Evaluating the Effectiveness of Quantitative Easing Measures of the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank," Asian Economic and Financial Review, Asian Economic and Social Society, vol. 12(3), pages 141-163.
    15. Stavros E. Arvanitis & Theodoros V. Stamatopoulos & Dimitris Terzakis, 2018. "Is There a Non-linear Relationship of Market Value with Cash and Ownership?," SPOUDAI Journal of Economics and Business, SPOUDAI Journal of Economics and Business, University of Piraeus, vol. 68(1), pages 3-25, January-M.
    16. Buu Kiem Dang & Duc Toan Vo & Nguyen Tuyet Minh Ha, 2025. "The impact of economic uncertainty and institutional quality on bank profitability: global evidence," International Economics and Economic Policy, Springer, vol. 22(3), pages 1-29, July.
    17. Beata Zyznarska-Dworczak Ivana Mamić Sačer, 2019. "Accounting Systems in Poland and Croatia - comparative study," Zagreb International Review of Economics and Business, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Zagreb, vol. 22(1), pages 55-72, May.
    18. Abdel-Hameed M. Bashir, 2003. "Determinants Of Profitability In Islamic Banks: Some Evidence From The Middle East," Islamic Economic Studies, The Islamic Research and Training Institute (IRTI), vol. 11, pages 32-57.
    19. Wu, Ji & Guo, Mengmeng & Chen, Minghua & Jeon, Bang Nam, 2019. "Market power and risk-taking of banks: Some semiparametric evidence from emerging economies," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 41(C).
    20. Claessens, Stijn & van Horen, Neeltje, 2012. "Being a foreigner among domestic banks: Asset or liability?," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 36(5), pages 1276-1290.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jecomi:v:13:y:2025:i:6:p:161-:d:1672205. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.