IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/hal/wpaper/hal-04141575.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Bank interest margins and regulation in Central America and the Caribbean

Author

Listed:
  • Anthony Birchwood
  • Michael Brei

    (EconomiX - EconomiX - UPN - Université Paris Nanterre - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

  • Dorian Noel

Abstract

This paper examines empirically the determinants of bank interest margins in Central America and the Caribbean over the period 1998-2014. A particular focus is set on the impact of differences in the regulatory environment and market structure across countries in explaining the interest margins of individual banks. Our results suggest that bank market power, cost inefficiency, credit risk, liquid asset holdings, and interest rate risk increase the margin between loan and deposit rates, while increased income diversification and GDP growth are associated with lower loan-deposit spreads. When considering information on banking regulation, we find strong evidence to support our main hypothesis that improvements in market quality and liberalization have a significant effect on interest margins. More specifically, reductions in entry requirements to banking, higher involvement of foreign banks, and increased financial statement transparency are associated with significant reductions in interest margins.

Suggested Citation

  • Anthony Birchwood & Michael Brei & Dorian Noel, 2016. "Bank interest margins and regulation in Central America and the Caribbean," Working Papers hal-04141575, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-04141575
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-04141575
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://hal.science/hal-04141575/document
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lepetit, Laetitia & Nys, Emmanuelle & Rous, Philippe & Tarazi, Amine, 2008. "The expansion of services in European banking: Implications for loan pricing and interest margins," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 32(11), pages 2325-2335, November.
    2. Michiel van Leuvensteijn & Christoffer Kok Sørensen & Jacob A. Bikker & Adrian A.R.J.M. van Rixtel, 2013. "Impact of bank competition on the interest rate pass-through in the euro area," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(11), pages 1359-1380, April.
    3. Arellano, Manuel & Bover, Olympia, 1995. "Another look at the instrumental variable estimation of error-components models," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 68(1), pages 29-51, July.
    4. Busch, Ramona & Memmel, Christoph, 2015. "Banks' net interest margin and the level of interest rates," Discussion Papers 16/2015, Deutsche Bundesbank.
    5. James R. Barth & Gerard Caprio & Ross Levine, 2013. "Bank regulation and supervision in 180 countries from 1999 to 2011," Journal of Financial Economic Policy, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 5(2), pages 111-219, May.
    6. Kashyap, Anil K. & Stein, Jeremy C., 1995. "The impact of monetary policy on bank balance sheets," Carnegie-Rochester Conference Series on Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 42(1), pages 151-195, June.
    7. Giannetti, Mariassunta & Ongena, Steven, 2012. "“Lending by example”: Direct and indirect effects of foreign banks in emerging markets," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(1), pages 167-180.
    8. George Clarke & Robert Cull & Maria Soledad Martinez Peria & Susana M. S·nchez, 2003. "Foreign Bank Entry: Experience, Implications for Developing Economies, and Agenda for Further Research," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 18(1), pages 25-59.
    9. Hellwig, Martin, 1994. "Liquidity provision, banking, and the allocation of interest rate risk," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 38(7), pages 1363-1389, August.
    10. Gambacorta, Leonardo & Shin, Hyun Song, 2018. "Why bank capital matters for monetary policy," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 35(PB), pages 17-29.
    11. Demirguc-Kunt, Asli & Laeven, Luc & Levine, Ross, 2004. "Regulations, Market Structure, Institutions, and the Cost of Financial Intermediation," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 36(3), pages 593-622, June.
    12. Jimenez, Gabriel & Saurina, Jesus, 2004. "Collateral, type of lender and relationship banking as determinants of credit risk," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 28(9), pages 2191-2212, September.
    13. Levine, Ross, 2005. "Finance and Growth: Theory and Evidence," Handbook of Economic Growth, in: Philippe Aghion & Steven Durlauf (ed.), Handbook of Economic Growth, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 12, pages 865-934, Elsevier.
    14. Elsas, Ralf & Hackethal, Andreas & Holzhäuser, Markus, 2010. "The anatomy of bank diversification," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 34(6), pages 1274-1287, June.
    15. Demirgüç-Kunt, Asli & Huizinga, Harry, 2010. "Bank activity and funding strategies: The impact on risk and returns," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 98(3), pages 626-650, December.
    16. Maudos, Joaquin & Fernandez de Guevara, Juan, 2004. "Factors explaining the interest margin in the banking sectors of the European Union," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 28(9), pages 2259-2281, September.
    17. Saunders, Anthony & Schumacher, Liliana, 2000. "The determinants of bank interest rate margins: an international study," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 19(6), pages 813-832, December.
    18. Claessens, Stijn & Demirguc-Kunt, Asl[iota] & Huizinga, Harry, 2001. "How does foreign entry affect domestic banking markets?," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 25(5), pages 891-911, May.
    19. François Boutin-Dufresne & Oral Williams & Tomasz A. Zawisza, 2015. "Banking Sector Efficiency in Sub-Saharan Africa," Journal of African Economies, Centre for the Study of African Economies, vol. 24(3), pages 325-351.
    20. Christa Hainz & Laurent Weill & Christophe Godlewski, 2013. "Bank Competition and Collateral: Theory and Evidence," Journal of Financial Services Research, Springer;Western Finance Association, vol. 44(2), pages 131-148, October.
    21. Ashoka Mody & Maria Soledad Martinez Peria, 2004. "How foreign participation and market concentration impact bank spreads: evidence from Latin America," Proceedings, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, pages 511-542.
    22. Entrop, Oliver & Memmel, Christoph & Ruprecht, Benedikt & Wilkens, Marco, 2015. "Determinants of bank interest margins: Impact of maturity transformation," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 1-19.
    23. Winston Moore & Roland Craigwell, 2002. "Market Power and Interest Rate Spreads in the Caribbean," International Review of Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(4), pages 391-405.
    24. Kashyap, Anil K & Stein, Jeremy C & Wilcox, David W, 1993. "Monetary Policy and Credit Conditions: Evidence from the Composition of External Finance," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 83(1), pages 78-98, March.
    25. Ho, Thomas S. Y. & Saunders, Anthony, 1981. "The Determinants of Bank Interest Margins: Theory and Empirical Evidence," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 16(4), pages 581-600, November.
    26. Carbo Valverde, Santiago & Rodriguez Fernandez, Francisco, 2007. "The determinants of bank margins in European banking," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 31(7), pages 2043-2063, July.
    27. Stijn Claessens & Neeltje van Horen, 2015. "The Impact of the Global Financial Crisis on Banking Globalization," IMF Economic Review, Palgrave Macmillan;International Monetary Fund, vol. 63(4), pages 868-918, November.
    28. Vander Vennet, Rudi, 2002. "Cost and Profit Efficiency of Financial Conglomerates and Universal Banks in Europe," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 34(1), pages 254-282, February.
    29. Brock, Philip L. & Rojas Suarez, Liliana, 2000. "Understanding the behavior of bank spreads in Latin America," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 63(1), pages 113-134, October.
    30. James R. Barth & Gerard Caprio & Ross Levine, 2013. "Bank regulation and supervision in 180 countries from 1999 to 2011," Journal of Financial Economic Policy, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 5(2), pages 111-219, May.
    31. Huybens, Elisabeth & Smith, Bruce D., 1999. "Inflation, financial markets and long-run real activity," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(2), pages 283-315, April.
    32. Barth, James R. & Lin, Chen & Ma, Yue & Seade, Jesús & Song, Frank M., 2013. "Do bank regulation, supervision and monitoring enhance or impede bank efficiency?," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(8), pages 2879-2892.
    33. Michael Brei & Leonardo Gambacorta, 2016. "Are bank capital ratios pro-cyclical? New evidence and perspectives," Economic Policy, CEPR, CESifo, Sciences Po;CES;MSH, vol. 31(86), pages 357-403.
    34. Mariassunta Giannetti & Steven Ongena, 2009. "Financial Integration and Firm Performance: Evidence from Foreign Bank Entry in Emerging Markets," Review of Finance, European Finance Association, vol. 13(2), pages 181-223.
    35. Saskia E. van Ewijk & Ivo J.M. Arnold, 2014. "How bank business models drive interest margins: evidence from US bank-level data," The European Journal of Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(10), pages 850-873, October.
    36. Allen, Linda & Saunders, Anthony & Udell, Gregory F., 1991. "The pricing of retail deposits: Concentration and information," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 1(4), pages 335-361, December.
    37. Besanko, David & Thakor, Anjan V., 1992. "Banking deregulation: Allocational consequences of relaxing entry barriers," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 16(5), pages 909-932, September.
    38. Mrs. Ruby Randall, 1998. "Interest Rate Spreads in the Eastern Caribbean," IMF Working Papers 1998/059, International Monetary Fund.
    39. A. P. Lerner, 1934. "The Concept of Monopoly and the Measurement of Monopoly Power," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 1(3), pages 157-175.
    40. Angbazo, Lazarus, 1997. "Commercial bank net interest margins, default risk, interest-rate risk, and off-balance sheet banking," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 21(1), pages 55-87, January.
    41. Stijn Claessens & Neeltje van Horen, 2015. "The Impact of the Global Financial Crisis on Banking Globalization," IMF Economic Review, Palgrave Macmillan;International Monetary Fund, vol. 63(4), pages 868-918, November.
    42. McShane, R. W. & Sharpe, I. G., 1985. "A time series/cross section analysis of the determinants of Australian trading bank loan/deposit interest margins: 1962-1981," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 9(1), pages 115-136, March.
    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. Birchwood, Anthony & Brei, Michael & Noel, Dorian M., 2017. "Interest margins and bank regulation in Central America and the Caribbean," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 56-68.
    2. Nguyen, Thach V.H. & Nguyen, Thai Vu Hong, 2022. "How do banks price liquidity? The role of market power," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).
    3. Gabriele Angori & David Aristei & Manuela Gallo, 2019. "Determinants of Banks’ Net Interest Margin: Evidence from the Euro Area during the Crisis and Post-Crisis Period," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(14), pages 1-20, July.
    4. Maria-Eleni K. Agoraki & Georgios P. Kouretas, 2019. "The determinants of net interest margin during transition," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 53(4), pages 1005-1029, November.
    5. Mudeer A. Khattak & Buerhan Saiti & Shabeer Khan, 2023. "Does market power explain margins in dual banking? Evidence from panel quantile regression," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(2), pages 1826-1844, April.
    6. Valente, José & Augusto, Mário & Murteira, José, 2024. "Differentiated impact of spread determinants by personal loan category: Evidence from the Brazilian banking sector," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 89(PB), pages 299-315.
    7. Brei, Michael & Jacolin, Luc & Noah, Alphonse, 2020. "Credit risk and bank competition in Sub-Saharan Africa," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 44(C).
    8. Trinugroho, Irwan & Agusman, Agusman & Tarazi, Amine, 2014. "Why have bank interest margins been so high in Indonesia since the 1997/1998 financial crisis?," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 139-158.
    9. Philip Molyneux & Alessio Reghezza & Ru Xie, 2018. "Bank Profits and Margins in a World of Negative Rates," Working Papers 18001, Bangor Business School, Prifysgol Bangor University (Cymru / Wales).
    10. Koffie Ben Nassar & Edder Martinez & Anabel Pineda, 2014. "Determinants of Banks' Net Interest Margins in Honduras," IMF Working Papers 2014/163, International Monetary Fund.
    11. Li Xian Liu & Milind Sathye, 2019. "Bank Interest Rate Margin, Portfolio Composition and Institutional Constraints," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-21, July.
    12. Raja Almarzoqi & Sami Ben Naceur, 2015. "Determinants of Bank Interest Margins in the Caucasus and Central Asia," IMF Working Papers 2015/087, International Monetary Fund.
    13. Saad Azmat & A. S. M. Sohel Azad & M. Ishaq Bhatti & Hamza Ghaffar, 2020. "Islamic Banking, Costly Religiosity, And Competition," Journal of Financial Research, Southern Finance Association;Southwestern Finance Association, vol. 43(2), pages 263-303, May.
    14. Dimitrios P. Louzis & Angelos T. Vouldis, 2015. "Profitability in the Greek Banking System: a Dual Investigation of Net Interest and Non-Interest Income," Working Papers 191, Bank of Greece.
    15. Molyneux, Philip & Reghezza, Alessio & Xie, Ru, 2019. "Bank margins and profits in a world of negative rates," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 1-1.
    16. Brei, Michael & Moreno, Ramon, 2019. "Reserve requirements and capital flows in Latin America," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    17. Pires Tiberto, Bruno & Oliveira de Moraes, Claudio & Pio Corrêa, Paloma, 2020. "Does transparency of central banks communication affect credit market? Empirical evidence for advanced and emerging markets," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).
    18. Entrop, Oliver & Memmel, Christoph & Ruprecht, Benedikt & Wilkens, Marco, 2015. "Determinants of bank interest margins: Impact of maturity transformation," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 1-19.
    19. Bismark Addai & Wenjin Tang & Adjei Gyamfi Gyimah & Kingsley Opoku Appiah, 2023. "Bank intermediation margins in transition banking domains: panel evidence from Africa," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 56(4), pages 2129-2167, August.
    20. Fungáčová, Zuzana & Poghosyan, Tigran, 2011. "Determinants of bank interest margins in Russia: Does bank ownership matter?," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 35(4), pages 481-495.

    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:hal:wpaper:hal-04141575. 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: CCSD (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/ .

    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.