Pushed Past the Limit? How Japanese Banks Reacted to Negative Interest Rates

Pushed Past the Limit? How Japanese Banks Reacted to Negative Interest Rates PDF

Author: Mr.Gee Hee Hong

Publisher: International Monetary Fund

Published: 2018-06-13

Total Pages: 50

ISBN-13: 148436161X

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

In this paper, we investigate how negative interest rate policy (NIRP) introduced in January 2016 by the Bank of Japan (BoJ) affected Japanese banks' lending and risk taking behavior. The BoJ's announcement was an unexpected surprise to the market and was followed by a sharp drop in equity prices of Japanese financial firms. We exploit the cross-sectional variation in the change of share prices on the day of the announcement to measure banks' differential exposure to NIRP. We show that more exposed banks increased their credit and took on more risk compared to banks that were less exposed to negative rates.

Pushed Past the Limit? How Japanese Banks Reacted to Negative Rates

Pushed Past the Limit? How Japanese Banks Reacted to Negative Rates PDF

Author: Gee Hee Hong

Publisher:

Published: 2019

Total Pages: 51

ISBN-13:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

In this paper, we investigate how negative interest rate policy (NIRP) introduced by the Bank of Japan (BoJ) affected Japanese banks' lending and risk-taking behavior. The BoJ's unexpected announcement was unequivocally viewed as an accommodative surprise in financial markets, but equity prices of Japanese financial firms experienced sharp drops. We exploit the cross-sectional variation in the change of share prices around the announcement to measure banks' differential exposure to negative rate policy. We first document the unique characteristics of Japan's banking system that heighten the exposure of Japanese banks to NIRP. We then show that, consistent with an operative risk taking channel, banks that were more exposed to NIRP insulated their profits from the adverse effects of negative policy rates by boosting risk-taking behavior and increasing credit supply relative to less exposed banks. However, our theoretical framework suggests that, for sufficiently negative rates, banks will eventually be pushed past the limit of their ability or willingness to offset profit pressures via additional risk taking, which can inhibit the transmission of NIRP through banks.

Negative Interest Rates

Negative Interest Rates PDF

Author: Luís Brandão Marques

Publisher: International Monetary Fund

Published: 2021-03-03

Total Pages: 84

ISBN-13: 1513570080

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

This paper focuses on negative interest rate policies and covers a broad range of its effects, with a detailed discussion of findings in the academic literature and of broader country experiences.

Enabling Deep Negative Rates to Fight Recessions: A Guide

Enabling Deep Negative Rates to Fight Recessions: A Guide PDF

Author: Ruchir Agarwal

Publisher: International Monetary Fund

Published: 2019-04-29

Total Pages: 89

ISBN-13: 1484398777

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

The experience of the Great Recession and its aftermath revealed that a lower bound on interest rates can be a serious obstacle for fighting recessions. However, the zero lower bound is not a law of nature; it is a policy choice. The central message of this paper is that with readily available tools a central bank can enable deep negative rates whenever needed—thus maintaining the power of monetary policy in the future to end recessions within a short time. This paper demonstrates that a subset of these tools can have a big effect in enabling deep negative rates with administratively small actions on the part of the central bank. To that end, we (i) survey approaches to enable deep negative rates discussed in the literature and present new approaches; (ii) establish how a subset of these approaches allows enabling negative rates while remaining at a minimum distance from the current paper currency policy and minimizing the political costs; (iii) discuss why standard transmission mechanisms from interest rates to aggregate demand are likely to remain unchanged in deep negative rate territory; and (iv) present communication tools that central banks can use both now and in the event to facilitate broader political acceptance of negative interest rate policy at the onset of the next serious recession.

Negative Monetary Policy Rates and Portfolio Rebalancing: Evidence from Credit Register Data

Negative Monetary Policy Rates and Portfolio Rebalancing: Evidence from Credit Register Data PDF

Author: Margherita Bottero

Publisher: International Monetary Fund

Published: 2019-02-28

Total Pages: 59

ISBN-13: 1498300855

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

We study negative interest rate policy (NIRP) exploiting ECB's NIRP introduction and administrative data from Italy, severely hit by the Eurozone crisis. NIRP has expansionary effects on credit supply-- -and hence the real economy---through a portfolio rebalancing channel. NIRP affects banks with higher ex-ante net short-term interbank positions or, more broadly, more liquid balance-sheets, not with higher retail deposits. NIRP-affected banks rebalance their portfolios from liquid assets to credit—especially to riskier and smaller firms—and cut loan rates, inducing sizable real effects. By shifting the entire yield curve downwards, NIRP differs from rate cuts just above the ZLB.

Banking in a Steady State of Low Growth and Interest Rates

Banking in a Steady State of Low Growth and Interest Rates PDF

Author: Qianying Chen

Publisher: International Monetary Fund

Published: 2018-08-27

Total Pages: 37

ISBN-13: 1484374746

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

A prolonged low-interest-rate environment presents a significant challenge to banks and is likely to entail major changes to their business models over the long-run. Lower returns to maturity transformation in the face of flatter yield curves and an inability to offer deposit rates significantly below zero combine to compress bank earnings in this environment. Smaller, deposit-funded, less diversified banks are hurt most, increasing consolidation pressures and reach-for-yield incentives, presenting new financial stability challenges.To the extent that such an economic environment reflects a new, steady-state with lower equilibrium growth driven by population aging and slower productivity growth, lower credit demand is likely to drive banking toward provision of fee-based, utility services.

Japanese Monetary Policy

Japanese Monetary Policy PDF

Author: Kenneth J. Singleton

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 2007-12-01

Total Pages: 208

ISBN-13: 0226760685

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

How has the Bank of Japan (BOJ) helped shape Japan's economic growth during the past two decades? This book comprehensively explores the relations between financial market liberalization and BOJ policies and examines the ways in which these policies promoted economic growth in the 1980s. The authors argue that the structure of Japan's financial markets, particularly restrictions on money-market transactions and the key role of commercial banks in financing corporate investments, allowed the BOJ to influence Japan's economic success. The first two chapters provide the most in-depth English-language discussion of the BOJ's operating procedures and policymaker's views about how BOJ actions affect the Japanese business cycle. Chapter three explores the impact of the BOJ's distinctive window guidance policy on corporate investment, while chapter four looks at how monetary policy affects the term structure of interest rates in Japan. The final two chapters examine the overall effect of monetary policy on real aggregate economic activity. This volume will prove invaluable not only to economists interested in the technical operating procedures of the BOJ, but also to those interested in the Japanese economy and in the operation and outcome of monetary reform in general.

Monetary Policy after the Great Recession

Monetary Policy after the Great Recession PDF

Author: Arkadiusz Sieroń

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2020-11-09

Total Pages: 246

ISBN-13: 1000221431

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Walter Bagehot noticed once that “John Bull can stand many things, but he cannot stand two per cent.” Well, for several years, he has had to stand interest rates well below that, in some countries even below zero. However, despite this sacrifice, the economic recovery from the Great Recession has been disappointingly weak. This book’s aim is to answer this question. The central thesis of the book is that the standard understanding of the monetary transmission mechanism is flawed. That understanding adopts erroneous assumptions—such as, that low interest rates always stimulate economic growth by boosting the credit supply, investment, and consumption—and does not fully take into account several unintended channels of monetary policy, such as risk-taking, high level of debt, or zombification of the economy. In other words, the effectiveness of monetary policy is limited during economic downturns accompanied by the debt overhang and the balance sheet recession, and generates negative effects, which can make the policy counterproductive. The author provides a thorough analysis of the issues related to the interest rates in the conduct of monetary policy, such as the risk-taking channel of monetary policy, the portfolio-balance channel and the wealth effect, zombie firms in the economy, the misallocation of resources, as well as the neutral interest rate targeting and the difference between the neutral and natural interest rate and the negative interest rate policy. The book is written in an accessible and engaging manner and will be a valuable resource for scholars of monetary economics as well as readers interested in (unconventional) monetary policy.

Global Financial Stability Report, April 2013

Global Financial Stability Report, April 2013 PDF

Author: International Monetary Fund. Monetary and Capital Markets Department

Publisher: International Monetary Fund

Published: 2013-04-17

Total Pages: 160

ISBN-13: 1475589581

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

The Global Financial Stability Report examines current risks facing the global financial system and policy actions that may mitigate these. It analyzes the key challenges facing financial and nonfinancial firms as they continue to repair their balance sheets. Chapter 2 takes a closer look at whether sovereign credit default swaps markets are good indicators of sovereign credit risk. Chapter 3 examines unconventional monetary policy in some depth, including the policies pursued by the Federal Reserve, the Bank of England, the Bank of Japan, the European Central Bank, and the U.S. Federal Reserve.

Japan

Japan PDF

Author: International Monetary Fund. Monetary and Capital Markets Department

Publisher: International Monetary Fund

Published: 2017-07-31

Total Pages: 109

ISBN-13: 1484313437

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

This paper assesses the stability of the financial system in Japan. Although the financial system has remained stable, the low profitability environment is creating new risks, and pressures are likely to persist. The search for yield among banks has led some to expand their overseas activities, and more generally to a growth in real estate lending and foreign securities investments. Efforts to increase risk-based lending to small-and medium-sized enterprises are welcome, but many banks still need to develop commensurate credit assessment capacities. Stress tests suggest that the banking sector remains broadly sound, although market risks are increasing, and there are some vulnerabilities among regional banks.