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Bank asset quality & monetary policy pass-through

Author

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  • David Byrne
  • Robert Kelly

Abstract

The funding mix of European firms is weighted heavily towards bank credit, which underscores the importance of efficient pass-through of monetary policy actions to lending rates faced by firms. Euro area pass-through has shifted from being relatively homogenous to being fragmented and incomplete since the financial crisis. Distressed loan books are a crisis hangover with direct implications for profitability, hampering banks ability to supply credit and lower loan pricing in response to reductions in the policy rate. This paper presents a parsimonious model to decompose the cost of lending and highlight the role of asset quality in diminishing pass-through. Using bank-level data over the period 2008–2014, we empirically test the implications of the model. We show that a one percentage point increase in the impairment ratio lowering short run pass-through by 3%. We find that banks with severely impaired balance sheets do not adjust their loan pricing in response to changes in the policy rate at all. We derive a measure of the hidden bad loan problem, the NPL gap, which we define as the excess of non-performing loans over impaired loans. We show that it played a significant role in the fragmentation of euro area pass-through post-crisis.

Suggested Citation

  • David Byrne & Robert Kelly, 2019. "Bank asset quality & monetary policy pass-through," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(23), pages 2501-2521, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:applec:v:51:y:2019:i:23:p:2501-2521
    DOI: 10.1080/00036846.2018.1546953
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Saibal Ghosh, 2022. "Does financial interconnectedness affect monetary transmission? Evidence from India," Macroeconomics and Finance in Emerging Market Economies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 15(3), pages 273-300, September.
    2. Swain, Pankaj & Misra, Arun Kumar & Kumar, Satish & Madhavan, Vinodh, 2026. "Banking on the brink: An incremental cost-based view of financial stress," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    3. Byrne, David & Foster, Sorcha, 2023. "Transmission of monetary policy: Bank interest rate pass-through in Ireland and the euro area," Economic Letters 3/EL/23, Central Bank of Ireland.
    4. Donnery, Sharon & Fitzpatrick, Trevor & Greaney, Darren & McCann, Fergal & O'Keeffe, Micheal, 2018. "Resolving Non-Performing Loans in Ireland: 2010-2018," Quarterly Bulletin Articles, Central Bank of Ireland, pages 54-70, April.
    5. Raftis, Achilleas & Karpetis, Christos & Papadamou, Stephanos & Spyromitros, Eleftherios, 2024. "Monetary winds of change: Exploring the link between policy shifts and bank profitability in developed and emerging European markets," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    6. Fernando, Antonette, 2022. "The Role of Financial Structural Factors in Retail Rate Adjustment: Evidence from Sri Lanka," OSF Preprints gn5jp, Center for Open Science.
    7. Jugnu Ansari & Saibal Ghosh, 2021. "Monetary Policy Pass-through, Ownership and Crisis: How Robust is the Indian Evidence?," Margin: The Journal of Applied Economic Research, National Council of Applied Economic Research, vol. 15(4), pages 456-483, November.
    8. Morell, Joe & Shaw, Frances & Lyons, Paul & McCann, Fergal, 2022. "Rising interest rates and higher inflation: implications for the banking sector," Financial Stability Notes 15/FS/22, Central Bank of Ireland.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D43 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure, Pricing, and Design - - - Oligopoly and Other Forms of Market Imperfection
    • E51 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - Money Supply; Credit; Money Multipliers
    • E52 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - Monetary Policy
    • E58 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - Central Banks and Their Policies
    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages

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