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The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Impact of Negative Interest Rates and QE on the Profitability and Risk-Taking of 1600 German Banks

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  • Florian Urbschat

Abstract

The recent negative interest rate policy (NIRP) and quantitative easing (QE) programme by the ECB have raised concerns about the pass-through of monetary policy. On the one hand, negative rates could lead to declining bank profitability making an expansionary monetary policy contractionary. Also, if interest rates are too low for too long banks could be induced to take too much risky credit. On the other hand, several economists argue that there is nothing special about negative interest rates per se. This paper uses a large micro level data set of the German bank universe to examine how banks behave in this uncharted territory. The evidence found suggests that bank’s business model, i.e. the share of overnight deposits, plays a crucial role. While some banks may benefit in the short run via for instance reduced refinancing costs or lower loan loss provisions, many banks with high deposit ratios face lower net interest income and lower credit growth rates. If continued for too long QE and NIRP erode bank profits for most banks eventually.

Suggested Citation

  • Florian Urbschat, 2018. "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Impact of Negative Interest Rates and QE on the Profitability and Risk-Taking of 1600 German Banks," CESifo Working Paper Series 7358, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_7358
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    Cited by:

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    2. Goodhart, C. A. E. & Kabiri, Ali, 2019. "Monetary policy and bank profitability in a low interest rate environment: a follow-up and a rejoinder," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 100968, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    3. Marcel Barmeier, 2022. "The new normal: bank lending and negative interest rates in Austria (Marcel Barmeier)," Working Papers 242, Oesterreichische Nationalbank (Austrian Central Bank).
    4. Argimon, Isabel & Danton, Jayson M. & de Haan, Jakob & Rodriguez-Martin, Javier & Rodriguez-Moreno, Maria, 2023. "Low interest rates and banks’ interest margins: Does belonging to a banking group matter?," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    5. Junttila, Juha & Nguyen, Vo Cao Sang, 2022. "Impacts of sovereign risk premium on bank profitability: Evidence from euro area," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    6. Demiralp, Selva & Eisenschmidt, Jens & Vlassopoulos, Thomas, 2021. "Negative interest rates, excess liquidity and retail deposits: Banks’ reaction to unconventional monetary policy in the euro area," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 136(C).
    7. Joscha Beckmann & Klaus-Jürgen Gern & Nils Jannsen, 2022. "Should they stay or should they go? Negative interest rate policies under review," International Economics and Economic Policy, Springer, vol. 19(4), pages 885-912, October.
    8. Goodhart, Charles & Kabiri, Ali, 2019. "Monetary Policy and Bank Profitability in a Low Interest Rate Environment: A Follow-up and a Rejoinder," CEPR Discussion Papers 13752, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    9. Salvatore Cardillo & Raffaele Gallo & Francesco Guarino, 2021. "Main challenges and prospects for the European banking sector: a critical review of the ongoing debate," Questioni di Economia e Finanza (Occasional Papers) 634, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    10. Carletti, Elena & Claessens, Stijn & Fatás, Antonio & Vives, Xavier (ed.), 2020. "Barcelona Report 2 - The Bank Business Model in the Post-Covid-19 World," Vox eBooks, Centre for Economic Policy Research, number p329.
    11. Florian Heider & Farzad Saidi & Glenn Schepens, 2021. "Banks and Negative Interest Rates," Annual Review of Financial Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 13(1), pages 201-218, November.
    12. Cynthia Balloch & Yann Koby & Mauricio Ulate, 2022. "Making Sense of Negative Nominal Interest Rates," Working Paper Series 2022-12, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.
    13. Simona Malovaná & Josef Bajzík & Dominika Ehrenbergerová & Jan Janků, 2023. "A prolonged period of low interest rates in Europe: Unintended consequences," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(2), pages 526-572, April.
    14. Milan Šimáček, 2021. "Transmise měnové politiky a spodní efektivní hranice měnověpolitické úrokové sazby [Monetary Policy Transmission and Effective Lower Limit of Monetary Policy Interest Rates]," Politická ekonomie, Prague University of Economics and Business, vol. 2021(2), pages 227-253.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    negative interest rate policy; banks’ profitability; net interest rate margin; risk-taking channel;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C53 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric Modeling - - - Forecasting and Prediction Models; Simulation Methods
    • E43 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Interest Rates: Determination, Term Structure, and Effects
    • E52 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - Monetary Policy
    • G11 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Portfolio Choice; Investment Decisions
    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages

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