Firm financial constraints and the impact of monetary policy: evidence from financial conglomerates

Building on recent evidence on the functioning of internal capital markets in financial conglomerates, this paper conducts a novel test of the balance sheet channel of monetary policy. It does so by comparing monetary policy responses of small banks that are affiliated with the same bank holding company, and this arguably face similar constraints in accessing internal/external sources of funds, but that operate in different geographical regions, and thus face different pools of borrowers. Because these subsidiaries typically concentrate their lending with small local businesses, we can use cross-sectional differences in state-level economic indicators at the time of changes of monetary policy to study whether or not the strength of borrowers' balance sheets influences the response of bank lending. We find evidence that the negative response of bank loan growth to a monetary contraction is significantly stronger when borrowers have 'weak balance sheets. Our evidence suggests that the monetary authority should consider the amplification effects that financial constraints play following changes in basic interest rates and the role of financial conglomerates in the transmission of monetary policy.

Cyclicality of SME Lending and Government Involvement in Banks

Recent regulatory efforts aim at lowering the cyclicality of bank lending because of its potential detrimental effects on financial stability and the real economy. We investigate the cyclicality of SME lending by local banks with vs. without a public mandate, controlling for location, size, loan maturity, funding structure, liquidity, profitability, and credit demand-side factors. The public mandate is set by local governments and stipulates a deviation from strict profit maximization and a sustainable provision of financial services to local customers. We find that banks with a public mandate are 25 percent less cyclical than other local banks. The result is credit supply-side driven and especially strong for savings banks with high liquidity and stable deposit funding. Our findings have implications for the banking structure, financial stability and the finance-growth nexus in a local context.

Cyclicality of SME lending and government involvement in banks

Recent regulatory efforts aim at lowering the cyclicality of bank lending because of its potential detrimental effects on financial stability and the real economy. We investigate the cyclicality of SME lending by local banks with vs. without a public mandate, controlling for location, size, loan maturity, funding structure, liquidity, profitability, and credit demand-side factors. The public mandate is set by local governments and stipulates a deviation from strict profit maximization and a sustainable provision of financial services to local customers. We find that banks with a public mandate are 25 percent less cyclical than other local banks. The result is credit supply-side driven and especially strong for savings banks with high liquidity and stable deposit funding. Our findings have implications for the banking structure, financial stability and the finance-growth nexus in a local context.

Intervenções governamentais no mercado de crédito bancário brasileiro: bancos públicos e bancos privados varejistas competem entre si?

O presente estudo investiga se há competição entre os bancos públicos e privados varejistas na presença de intervenções governamentais impostas ao mercado de crédito bancário brasileiro, tais como o aumento da oferta de crédito via bancos públicos e a campanha de redução dos spreads bancários capitaneada pelos bancos governamentais. Os resultados encontrados no modelo Diff-in-Diff indicam que os bancos públicos apresentam ritmo de crescimento do estoque de crédito, nível de aprovisionamento, rentabilidade da carteira de crédito, retorno operacional, bem como custo do funding superiores aos bancos privados após o tratamento. Ademais, há evidências de mudanças na estratégia de alocação de recursos dos bancos privados em relação aos pares públicos, tendo as instituições bancárias privadas preferido aumentar a participação de ativos líquidos no balanço em detrimento de operações de crédito após o tratamento. Esses resultados sugerem que os bancos privados não competem com os bancos públicos no segmento de varejo quando estes adotam estratégias de alocação de recursos difusas à maximização do lucro esperado para um dado risco.