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Quantitative Easing, Investment, and Safe Assets: The Corporate-Bond Lending Channel

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  • Erasmo Giambona
  • Rafael Matta
  • José-Luis Peydró
  • Ye Wang

Abstract

We show that Quantitative Easing (QE) stimulates investment via a corporate-bond lending channel. Fed's large-scale asset purchases of MBS and treasuries through QE creates a vacuum of safe assets, prompting safer firms to invest more by issuing relatively "safe" bonds. Using micro-data around QE, we find that QE increases firm-level investment by 7.4 percentage points for firms with bond market access. This growth is financed with senior bonds. We find no evidence of higher shareholders' payouts associated to QE. The robust findings are consistent with a model in which reducing the supply of government debt lowers "safe" corporate bond yields, stimulating investment.

Suggested Citation

  • Erasmo Giambona & Rafael Matta & José-Luis Peydró & Ye Wang, 2020. "Quantitative Easing, Investment, and Safe Assets: The Corporate-Bond Lending Channel," Working Papers 1179, Barcelona School of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:bge:wpaper:1179
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    Cited by:

    1. Nocera, A. & Pesaran, M. H., 2022. "Causal effects of the Fed's large-scale asset purchases on firms' capital structure," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 2224, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge.
    2. Yannis Dafermos, 2022. "Climate change, central banking and financial supervision: beyond the risk exposure approach," Chapters, in: Sylvio Kappes & Louis-Philippe Rochon & Guillaume Vallet (ed.), The Future of Central Banking, chapter 8, pages 175-194, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    3. Francesco Giovanardi & Matthias Kaldorf & Lucas Radke & Florian Wicknig, 2023. "The Preferential Treatment of Green Bonds," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 51, pages 657-676, December.
    4. Dawood Ashraf & Mohsin Khawaja & M. Ishaq Bhatti, 2022. "Raising capital amid economic policy uncertainty: an empirical investigation," Financial Innovation, Springer;Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, vol. 8(1), pages 1-32, December.
    5. Cohen, Lior, 2023. "The effects of the BoJ's ETF purchases on equities and corporate investment," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 129(C).
    6. Tischer, Johannes, 2021. "Quantitative easing, safe asset scarcity and bank lending," Discussion Papers 35/2021, Deutsche Bundesbank.
    7. Francesco Giovanardi & Matthias Kaldorf & Lucas Radke & Florian Wicknig, 2023. "The Preferential Treatment of Green Bonds," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 51, pages 657-676, December.
    8. Tischer, Johannes, 2022. "Quantitative Easing, Safe Asset Scarcity and Bank Lending," VfS Annual Conference 2022 (Basel): Big Data in Economics 264035, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    9. Koráb, Petr & Saadaoui Mallek, Ray & Dibooglu, Sel, 2021. "Effects of quantitative easing on firm performance in the euro area," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    10. Giovanardi, Francesco & Kaldorf, Matthias & Radke, Lucas & Wicknig, Florian, 2022. "The preferential treatment of green bonds," Discussion Papers 51/2022, Deutsche Bundesbank.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    quantitative easing (QE); corporate-bond lending channel; investment; safe assets; financing;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E5 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit
    • G01 - Financial Economics - - General - - - Financial Crises
    • G31 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Capital Budgeting; Fixed Investment and Inventory Studies
    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill
    • G38 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Government Policy and Regulation

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