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Lender of Last Resort versus Buyer of Last Resort – Evidence from the European Sovereign Debt Crisis

Author

Listed:
  • Viral V. Acharya

    (New York University, Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR), and National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER))

  • Diane Pierret

    (University of Lausanne and Swiss Finance Institute)

  • Sascha Steffen

    (Frankfurt School of Finance & Management)

Abstract

We document channels of monetary policy transmission to banks following two interventions of the European Central Bank (ECB). As a lender of last resort via the long-term refinancing operations (LTROs), the ECB improved the collateral value of sovereign bonds of peripheral countries. This resulted in an elevated concentration of these bonds in the portfolios of domestic banks, increasing fire-sale risk and making both banks and sovereign bonds riskier. In contrast, the ECB’s announcement of being a potential buyer of last resort via the Outright Monetary Transaction (OMT) program attracted new investors and reduced fire-sale risk in the sovereign bond market.

Suggested Citation

  • Viral V. Acharya & Diane Pierret & Sascha Steffen, 2018. "Lender of Last Resort versus Buyer of Last Resort – Evidence from the European Sovereign Debt Crisis," Swiss Finance Institute Research Paper Series 18-35, Swiss Finance Institute.
    • Handle: RePEc:chf:rpseri:rp1835
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    File URL: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2762265
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Fendel, Ralf & Neugebauer, Frederik & Zimmermann, Lilli, 2021. "Reactions of euro area government yields to Covid-19 related policy measure announcements by the European Commission and the European Central Bank," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 42(C).
    2. Kirsten Schmidt & Felix Noth & Lena Tonzer, 2022. "A Note of Caution on Quantifying Banks' Recapitalization Effects," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 54(4), pages 1123-1133, June.
    3. Anbil, Sriya & Vossmeyer, Angela, 2021. "Liquidity from two lending facilities," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 48(C).
    4. Legroux, Vincent & Rahmouni-Rousseau, Imène & Szczerbowicz, Urszula & Valla, Natacha, 2022. "Stabilising virtues of central banks: (Re)matching bank liquidity," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    5. Kirschenmann, Karolin & Korte, Josef & Steffen, Sascha, 2020. "A zero-risk weight channel of sovereign risk spillovers," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 51(C).
    6. Mitchener, Kris & Trebesch, Christoph, 2021. "Sovereign Debt in the 21st Century: Looking Backward, Looking Forward," CEPR Discussion Papers 15935, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    7. Pancotto, Livia & ap Gwilym, Owain & Molyneux, Philip, 2023. "Deal! Market reactions to the agreement on the EU Covid-19 recovery fund," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    8. Kris James Mitchener & Christoph Trebesch, 2021. "Sovereign Debt in the 21st Century," NBER Working Papers 28598, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    9. Rostagno, Massimo & Altavilla, Carlo & Carboni, Giacomo & Lemke, Wolfgang & Motto, Roberto & Saint Guilhem, Arthur & Yiangou, Jonathan, 2019. "A tale of two decades: the ECB’s monetary policy at 20," Working Paper Series 2346, European Central Bank.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Bank-sovereign nexus; ECB; fire sales; unconventional monetary policy;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G01 - Financial Economics - - General - - - Financial Crises
    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages
    • G28 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Government Policy and Regulation

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