European Central Bank

From Brussels to Bangkok: how investment funds transmit financial spillovers

10/06/2025 European Central Bank Central banks

We explore whether investment funds transmit spillovers from local shocks to financial markets in other economies. As a laboratory we consider shocks to financialmarket beliefs about the probability of a rare, euro-related disaster and their spillovers to Asian sovereign debt markets. Given their geographic distance from and relatively limited macroeconomic exposure to the euro area, these markets are an ideal testing ground a priori stacking the deck against finding evidence for investment funds transmitting spillovers from euro disaster risk shocks.

Hidden weaknesses: the role of unrealized losses in monetary policy transmission

10/02/2025 European Central Bank Central banks

This paper investigates how unrealized losses on banks’ amortized cost securities affect monetary policy transmission to bank lending in the euro area. Leveraging the sharp increase in interest rates between 2022 and 2023 and using granular supervisory data on security holdings and loan-level credit register data, we show that a one percentage point increase in the share of unrealized losses on amortized cost securities amplifies the contractionary effect of monetary tightening on lending supply by approximately one percentage point.

Hidden weaknesses: the role of unrealized losses in monetary policy transmission

10/02/2025 European Central Bank Central banks

This paper investigates how unrealized losses on banks’ amortized cost securities affect monetary policy transmission to bank lending in the euro area. Leveraging the sharp increase in interest rates between 2022 and 2023 and using granular supervisory data on security holdings and loan-level credit register data, we show that a one percentage point increase in the share of unrealized losses on amortized cost securities amplifies the contractionary effect of monetary tightening on lending supply by approximately one percentage point.

Macroprudential policy, monetary policy and non-bank financial intermediation

10/02/2025 European Central Bank Central banks

This paper examines the interplay between macroprudential policy, monetary policy and the non-bank financial intermediation (NBFI) sector, drawing on recent research and zooming in particularly on evidence from the euro area2. It documents the growth in the NBFI sector over the past two decades and its particular role in financing the real economy, assesses systemic risks that can emanate from the sector, considers how it interacts with monetary policy, and discusses the implications for macroprudential regulation.

Macroprudential policy, monetary policy and non-bank financial intermediation

10/02/2025 European Central Bank Central banks

This paper examines the interplay between macroprudential policy, monetary policy and the non-bank financial intermediation (NBFI) sector, drawing on recent research and zooming in particularly on evidence from the euro area2. It documents the growth in the NBFI sector over the past two decades and its particular role in financing the real economy, assesses systemic risks that can emanate from the sector, considers how it interacts with monetary policy, and discusses the implications for macroprudential regulation.

The impact of capital requirements on bank capital

10/01/2025 European Central Bank Central banks

This paper presents the first causal evidence on how banks adjust their voluntary capital buffers (the capital headroom above the required level) in response to changes in capital requirements. Using granular euro area data and exploiting the threshold-based assignment of Other Systemically Important Institution (O-SII) buffers within a regression discontinuity design, we study the liability side of banks’ balance sheets, complementing the asset-focused literature on lending and risk-taking.

Durability, essentiality, and the transmission of monetary policy to household consumption

10/01/2025 European Central Bank Central banks

In this paper, we examine how different household consumption items respond to monetary policy shocks in the euro area. Specifically, we classify household consumption along two key dimensions: durability and essentiality. Our findings reveal pronounced heterogeneity in responses across these dimensions. First, durable items are highly sensitive to monetary policy shocks, whereas non-durable items exhibit weaker responses. Second, non-essential items react more strongly than essential items.

The impact of capital requirements on bank capital

10/01/2025 European Central Bank Central banks

This paper presents the first causal evidence on how banks adjust their voluntary capital buffers (the capital headroom above the required level) in response to changes in capital requirements. Using granular euro area data and exploiting the threshold-based assignment of Other Systemically Important Institution (O-SII) buffers within a regression discontinuity design, we study the liability side of banks’ balance sheets, complementing the asset-focused literature on lending and risk-taking.

Durability, essentiality, and the transmission of monetary policy to household consumption

10/01/2025 European Central Bank Central banks

In this paper, we examine how different household consumption items respond to monetary policy shocks in the euro area. Specifically, we classify household consumption along two key dimensions: durability and essentiality. Our findings reveal pronounced heterogeneity in responses across these dimensions. First, durable items are highly sensitive to monetary policy shocks, whereas non-durable items exhibit weaker responses. Second, non-essential items react more strongly than essential items.

Foreign demand for safety and macroeconomic instability

09/30/2025 European Central Bank Central banks

Using novel data on sectoral safe asset positions in 21 advanced economies since 1980, we document the central role of the foreign sector in the market for safety and its macroeconomic implications. We show that safe asset holdings have expanded significantly relative to GDP, driven by rising net holdings of the foreign sector and accommodated by increased issuance from the financial and public sectors. Furthermore, fluctuations in safe assets are almost exclusively driven by the foreign and financial sectors, with close links between the two.

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