We examine whether banks incorporate firm-level biodiversity risk into their lending decisions. Using a large sample of syndicated loans matched to firm-level biodiversity risk measures, we document that borrowers with higher biodiversity risk face significantly higher loan spreads. Evidence on loan volumes is weaker, suggesting that banks primarily adjust along the pricing margin rather than restricting credit supply.
Using U.S. and Euro area data, we document that (i) the pass-through of energy prices to inflation is state-dependent - stronger when supply chain uncertainty is elevated – and (ii) in such states, energy prices become more informative about logistical conditions. We develop a model in which firms combine energy and a specialized input transported through a capacity-constrained transportation network. When congestion binds, energy remains available in local markets at a premium, whereas the specialized input is subject to delivery delays.
We model central bank communication when there is disagreement between the markets and the central bank about the central bank’s confidence surrounding its point forecast. We show that such a disagreement leads the markets to misunderstand a given announcement, so that the markets either over- or underreact to the bank’s announcement. Communicating only a part of the central bank’s information set is a way to correct the markets’ over- or underreaction.
Our new methodology builds an inter-country input-output table that distinguishes green products from the rest, allowing us to assess vulnerabilities in green value chains. In a multi-country, multi-sector model, our table reveals that a decoupling of green supply chains between a US-centric West and a China-centric East could globally cut trade in green products by up to 20%, lower welfare by up to 3% and raise yearly global greenhouse gas emissions by about 50 million tonnes.
Using regional data for 11 euro area countries from 1999 to 2023, instead of country-level data, we find that inflation still responds to economic slack, but this relationship is more modest and largely shaped by inflation expectations. This implies that traditional demand-side central bank policies may have limited direct effects on inflation, highlighting that anchoring expectations is essential for effective monetary policy transmission.
The post-pandemic inflation surge is often attributed to pent-up demand andopportunistic price hikes. In fact, it is better explained by the effects of theeconomy’s production network and “state-dependent” pricing, where firmschange prices optimally when the reward justifies the effort. Firms are tightlylinked through supply chains so a surge in prices upstream can triggersimultaneous repricing by many layers of firms downstream, fuelling broad-based inflation.
Based on a series of novel experiments fielded within the ECB’s Consumer Expectations Survey, we provide evidence on the attitudes of euro area consumers towards a possible central bank digital currency (CBDC). We document substantial socio‑demographic heterogeneity in consumers’ awareness and willingness to adopt a CBDC. According to survey responses, a sizeable share of around 45% of households would be interested in potentially adopting this new asset.
Euro area insurers manage several trillion euro in assets and take a long‑term investment perspective. To counteract the long period of low interest rates, they have shifted towards holding more alternative and less liquid assets. As a result, their balance sheets have become less liquid and more sensitive to market conditions overall. Meanwhile, their holdings of sovereign bonds show a significant home bias, which may have even increased with quantitative easing.
Banks trade off short-term losses on deposits against long-term profits from cross-selling other products to new depositors. This strategy is especially attractive when policy rates are low and future sales are more valuable. Therefore, deposit rates move less than policy rates: banks keep them relatively higher when policy rates fall, and relatively lower when policy rates rise. As returns on other financial assets follow policy rates more closely, this makes deposits relatively less attractive for depositors at higher policy rates.
We present novel empirical evidence on lending practices across all euro area countries, using AnaCredit data covering nearly seven million new loans issued to non-financial corporations in 2022-23. We document substantial variation in (a) the prevalence of fixed versus floating-rate loans, (b) rate fixation periods, and (c) reference rates. This variation results in lending rates being exposed to different segments of the risk-free rate yield curve which, in turn, influences their sensitivity to monetary policy changes.
