IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/finsta/v77y2025ics1572308925000142.html

Too big to fail? Asymmetric effects of quantitative easing

Author

Listed:
  • Chen, Hsuan-Chi
  • Chou, Robin K.
  • Lin, Chih-Yung
  • Lu, Chien-Lin

Abstract

In this study, we examine the impact of liquidity support from the Federal Reserve on the capital structures of firms of varying sizes. Our findings suggest that large firms tend to increase their debt financing and leverage ratios in response to significant shocks triggered by the large-scale asset purchases (LSAPs) of the US Federal Reserve. By contrast, small firms with preexisting banking relationships are more likely to receive liquidity support. Notably, small firms associated with smaller banks exhibit increased default risks. Furthermore, large firms exhibited weaker operating performance but received greater managerial compensation following the LSAP. This trend indicates potential inefficiencies in the distribution of funding facilitated by unconventional monetary policies.

Suggested Citation

  • Chen, Hsuan-Chi & Chou, Robin K. & Lin, Chih-Yung & Lu, Chien-Lin, 2025. "Too big to fail? Asymmetric effects of quantitative easing," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:finsta:v:77:y:2025:i:c:s1572308925000142
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jfs.2025.101385
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1572308925000142
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jfs.2025.101385?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hovakimian, Armen & Opler, Tim & Titman, Sheridan, 2001. "The Debt-Equity Choice," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 36(1), pages 1-24, March.
    2. Bernanke, Ben S. & Gertler, Mark & Gilchrist, Simon, 1999. "The financial accelerator in a quantitative business cycle framework," Handbook of Macroeconomics, in: J. B. Taylor & M. Woodford (ed.), Handbook of Macroeconomics, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 21, pages 1341-1393, Elsevier.
    3. Todorov, Karamfil, 2020. "Quantify the quantitative easing: Impact on bonds and corporate debt issuance," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 135(2), pages 340-358.
    4. Gornall, Will & Strebulaev, Ilya A., 2018. "Financing as a supply chain: The capital structure of banks and borrowers," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 129(3), pages 510-530.
    5. Denis, David J. & Mihov, Vassil T., 2003. "The choice among bank debt, non-bank private debt, and public debt: evidence from new corporate borrowings," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(1), pages 3-28, October.
    6. Houston, Joel F. & James, Christopher, 1995. "CEO compensation and bank risk Is compensation in banking structured to promote risk taking?," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 36(2), pages 405-431, November.
    7. Pablo Ottonello & Thomas Winberry, 2020. "Financial Heterogeneity and the Investment Channel of Monetary Policy," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 88(6), pages 2473-2502, November.
    8. Manthos D. Delis & Iftekhar Hasan & Nikolaos Mylonidis, 2017. "The Risk‐Taking Channel of Monetary Policy in the U.S.: Evidence from Corporate Loan Data," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 49(1), pages 187-213, February.
    9. Giacomo Rodano & Nicolas Serrano-Velarde & Emanuele Tarantino, 2018. "Lending Standards over the Credit Cycle," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 31(8), pages 2943-2982.
    10. Acharya, Viral & Naqvi, Hassan, 2012. "The seeds of a crisis: A theory of bank liquidity and risk taking over the business cycle," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 106(2), pages 349-366.
    11. Manthos D. Delis & Iftekhar Hasan & Nikolaos Mylonidis, 2017. "The Risk‐Taking Channel of Monetary Policy in the U.S.: Evidence from Corporate Loan Data," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 49(1), pages 187-213, February.
    12. Peter Demerjian & Baruch Lev & Sarah McVay, 2012. "Quantifying Managerial Ability: A New Measure and Validity Tests," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 58(7), pages 1229-1248, July.
    13. Steven Drucker & Manju Puri, 2005. "On the Benefits of Concurrent Lending and Underwriting," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 60(6), pages 2763-2799, December.
    14. Morais, Bernardo & Peydró, José-Luis & Roldán Peña, Jessica & Ruiz Ortega, Claudia, 2019. "The International Bank Lending Channel of Monetary Policy Rates and QE: Credit Supply, Reach-for-Yield, and Real Effects," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 74(1), pages 55-90.
    15. Martin Ruckes, 2004. "Bank Competition and Credit Standards," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 17(4), pages 1073-1102.
    16. Mark T. Leary, 2009. "Bank Loan Supply, Lender Choice, and Corporate Capital Structure," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 64(3), pages 1143-1185, June.
    17. Edward I. Altman, 2013. "Predicting financial distress of companies: revisiting the Z-Score and ZETA® models," Chapters, in: Adrian R. Bell & Chris Brooks & Marcel Prokopczuk (ed.), Handbook of Research Methods and Applications in Empirical Finance, chapter 17, pages 428-456, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    18. DeYoung, Robert & Peng, Emma Y. & Yan, Meng, 2013. "Executive Compensation and Business Policy Choices at U.S. Commercial Banks," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 48(1), pages 165-196, February.
    19. Michaelis, Henrike & Watzka, Sebastian, 2017. "Are there differences in the effectiveness of quantitative easing at the zero-lower-bound in Japan over time?," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 204-233.
    20. Stéphane Lhuissier & Urszula Szczerbowicz, 2022. "Monetary Policy and Corporate Debt Structure," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 84(3), pages 497-515, June.
    21. Bharath, Sreedhar & Dahiya, Sandeep & Saunders, Anthony & Srinivasan, Anand, 2007. "So what do I get? The bank's view of lending relationships," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(2), pages 368-419, August.
    22. Berger, Allen N & Udell, Gregory F, 1995. "Relationship Lending and Lines of Credit in Small Firm Finance," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 68(3), pages 351-381, July.
    23. Swanson, Eric T., 2021. "Measuring the effects of federal reserve forward guidance and asset purchases on financial markets," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 32-53.
    24. Ing-Haw Cheng & Harrison Hong & José A. Scheinkman, 2015. "Yesterday's Heroes: Compensation and Risk at Financial Firms," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 70(2), pages 839-879, April.
    25. Refet S. Gürkaynak & Brian Sack & Eric Swanson, 2005. "The Sensitivity of Long-Term Interest Rates to Economic News: Evidence and Implications for Macroeconomic Models," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 95(1), pages 425-436, March.
    26. Gelfer, Sacha & Gibbs, Christopher G., 2023. "Measuring the effects of large-scale asset purchases: The role of international financial markets and the financial accelerator," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 131(C).
    27. Ivashina, Victoria & Scharfstein, David, 2010. "Bank lending during the financial crisis of 2008," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 97(3), pages 319-338, September.
    28. Xu Li & Chen Lin & Xintong Zhan, 2019. "Does Change in the Information Environment Affect Financing Choices?," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 65(12), pages 5676-5696, December.
    29. Kaminska, Iryna & Mumtaz, Haroon & Šustek, Roman, 2021. "Monetary policy surprises and their transmission through term premia and expected interest rates," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 48-65.
    30. Burch, Timothy R. & Nanda, Vikram & Warther, Vincent, 2005. "Does it pay to be loyal? An empirical analysis of underwriting relationships and fees," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 77(3), pages 673-699, September.
    31. repec:bla:jfinan:v:59:y:2004:i:4:p:1777-1804 is not listed on IDEAS
    32. Viral V Acharya & Tim Eisert & Christian Eufinger & Christian Hirsch, 2019. "Whatever It Takes: The Real Effects of Unconventional Monetary Policy," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 32(9), pages 3366-3411.
    33. Laeven, Luc & Levine, Ross, 2009. "Bank governance, regulation and risk taking," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(2), pages 259-275, August.
    34. Giovanni Dell'Ariccia & Luc Laeven & Gustavo A. Suarez, 2017. "Bank Leverage and Monetary Policy's Risk-Taking Channel: Evidence from the United States," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 72(2), pages 613-654, April.
    35. DeAngelo, Harry & Stulz, René M., 2015. "Liquid-claim production, risk management, and bank capital structure: Why high leverage is optimal for banks," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 116(2), pages 219-236.
    36. Heitor Almeida & Murillo Campello & Michael S. Weisbach, 2024. "The Cash Flow Sensitivity of Cash: Replication, Extension, and Robustness," Critical Finance Review, now publishers, vol. 13(3-4), pages 351-365, August.
    37. Yifei Wang & Toni M. Whited & Yufeng Wu & Kairong Xiao, 2022. "Bank Market Power and Monetary Policy Transmission: Evidence from a Structural Estimation," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 77(4), pages 2093-2141, August.
    38. Michael L. Lemmon & Michael R. Roberts & Jaime F. Zender, 2008. "Back to the Beginning: Persistence and the Cross‐Section of Corporate Capital Structure," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 63(4), pages 1575-1608, August.
    39. Marek Jarociński & Peter Karadi, 2020. "Deconstructing Monetary Policy Surprises—The Role of Information Shocks," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 12(2), pages 1-43, April.
    40. Douglas W. Diamond, 1984. "Financial Intermediation and Delegated Monitoring," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 51(3), pages 393-414.
    41. Delis, Manthos D. & Hasan, Iftekhar & Ongena, Steven, 2020. "Democracy and credit," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 136(2), pages 571-596.
    42. Grosse-Rueschkamp, Benjamin & Steffen, Sascha & Streitz, Daniel, 2019. "A capital structure channel of monetary policy," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 133(2), pages 357-378.
    43. Rüdiger Fahlenbrach & Robert Prilmeier & René M. Stulz, 2012. "This Time Is the Same: Using Bank Performance in 1998 to Explain Bank Performance during the Recent Financial Crisis," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 67(6), pages 2139-2185, December.
    44. Charitou, Andreas & Dionysiou, Dionysia & Lambertides, Neophytos & Trigeorgis, Lenos, 2013. "Alternative bankruptcy prediction models using option-pricing theory," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(7), pages 2329-2341.
    45. Sreedhar T. Bharath & Tyler Shumway, 2008. "Forecasting Default with the Merton Distance to Default Model," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 21(3), pages 1339-1369, May.
    46. Michael Faulkender & Mitchell A. Petersen, 2006. "Does the Source of Capital Affect Capital Structure?," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 19(1), pages 45-79.
    47. Boot, Arnoud W. A., 2000. "Relationship Banking: What Do We Know?," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 9(1), pages 7-25, January.
    48. Chakraborty, Indraneel & Goldstein, Itay & MacKinlay, Andrew, 2020. "Monetary stimulus and bank lending," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 136(1), pages 189-218.
    49. Giovanni Dell'Ariccia & Robert Marquez, 2006. "Lending Booms and Lending Standards," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 61(5), pages 2511-2546, October.
    50. Kazuo Ueda, 2012. "Japan's Deflation and the Bank of Japan's Experience with Nontraditional Monetary Policy," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 44, pages 175-190, February.
    51. Petersen, Mitchell A & Rajan, Raghuram G, 1994. "The Benefits of Lending Relationships: Evidence from Small Business Data," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 49(1), pages 3-37, March.
    52. Michael Schwert, 2018. "Bank Capital and Lending Relationships," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 73(2), pages 787-830, April.
    53. Acharya, Viral & Naqvi, Hassan, 2019. "On reaching for yield and the coexistence of bubbles and negative bubbles," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 1-10.
    54. Kazuo Ueda, 2012. "Japan's Deflation and the Bank of Japan's Experience with Nontraditional Monetary Policy," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 44(s1), pages 175-190, February.
    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. Chen, Hsuan-Chi & Chou, Robin K. & Lin, Chih-Yung & Lu, Chien-Lin, 2022. "Bank loans during the 2008 quantitative easing," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    2. Giau Bui, Dien & Chen, Yehning & Lin, Chih-Yung & Lin, Tse-Chun, 2021. "Risk-taking of bank CEOs and corporate innovation," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    3. Wang, Ling, 2023. "Central bank asset purchases, banks’ risky security holdings and profitability: Macro and micro evidence from Japan and the U.S," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 347-364.
    4. Passos, Felipe Vieira & Carrasco-Gutierrez, Carlos Enrique & Loureiro, Paulo Roberto Amorim, 2024. "Monetary policy through the risk-taking channel: Evidence from an emerging market," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    5. Er, Tarık Alperen & Deniz, Burak & Yarba, İbrahim, 2025. "Loan spreads over the credit cycle," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    6. Wenlian Gao & Feifei Zhu & Kai Chen, 2023. "The role of bank lenders in firm leverage adjustments," Journal of Financial Research, Southern Finance Association;Southwestern Finance Association, vol. 46(1), pages 63-97, February.
    7. Ozan Güler & Mike Mariathasan & Klaas Mulier & Nejat G. Okatan, 2021. "The real effects of banks' corporate credit supply: A literature review," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 59(3), pages 1252-1285, July.
    8. Bouwman, Christa H. S., 2013. "Liquidity: How Banks Create It and How It Should Be Regulated," Working Papers 13-32, University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School, Weiss Center.
    9. Gabriel Jiménez & Steven Ongena & José-Luis Peydró & Jesús Saurina, 2017. "“In the Short Run Blasé, In the Long Run Risqué”," Schmalenbach Business Review, Springer;Schmalenbach-Gesellschaft, vol. 18(3), pages 181-226, August.
    10. Chieh-Jung Chan & Ping-Fang Yen & Hsin-Wen Wang & Yuan Chang, 2026. "ESG Performance and Bank Loan Interest Rates," Journal of Applied Finance & Banking, SCIENPRESS Ltd, vol. 16(1), pages 1-4.
    11. Nina Boyarchenko & Giovanni Favara & Moritz Schularick, 2022. "Financial Stability Considerations for Monetary Policy: Empirical Evidence and Challenges," Staff Reports 1003, Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
    12. Tetyana Balyuk & Nagpurnanand R. Prabhala & Manju Puri, 2020. "Indirect Costs of Government Aid and Intermediary Supply Effects: Lessons From the Paycheck Protection Program," NBER Working Papers 28114, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    13. Massa, Massimo & Yasuda, Ayako & Zhang, Lei, 2013. "Supply uncertainty of the bond investor base and the leverage of the firm," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 110(1), pages 185-214.
    14. Tang, Ning & Kamar, Amina & Lin, Chih-Yung & Lu, Chien-Lin, 2023. "Bank safety-oriented culture and lending decisions," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    15. Jiménez, Gabriel & Ongena, Steven & Peydró, José-Luis & Saurina, Jesús, 2017. "‘In the Short Run Blasé, in the Long Run Risqué’. On the Effects of Monetary Policy on Bank Credit Risk-Taking in the Short versus Long Run," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 18(3), pages 181-226.
    16. Holm-Hadulla, Fédéric & Thürwächter, Claire, 2021. "Heterogeneity in corporate debt structures and the transmission of monetary policy," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 136(C).
    17. Keil, Jan, 2023. "Lending relationships when creditors are in control," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    18. Armstrong, Christopher & Nicoletti, Allison & Zhou, Frank S., 2022. "Executive stock options and systemic risk," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 146(1), pages 256-276.
    19. Bharath, Sreedhar & Dahiya, Sandeep & Saunders, Anthony & Srinivasan, Anand, 2007. "So what do I get? The bank's view of lending relationships," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(2), pages 368-419, August.
    20. Yasuda, Ayako, 2007. "Bank relationships and underwriter competition: Evidence from Japan," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(2), pages 369-404, November.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • E12 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - General Aggregative Models - - - Keynes; Keynesian; Post-Keynesian; Modern Monetary Theory
    • 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
    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill

    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:eee:finsta:v:77:y:2025:i:c:s1572308925000142. 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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jfstabil .

    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.