Monetary policy tightening generates valuation losses on banks’ securities portfolios, reducing the collateral available for interbank borrowing. Using detailed euro area data, we show that banks with larger securities losses during the 2022-23 monetary policy tightening cycle obtained less interbank funding and reduced lending to firms, even when losses did not affect regulatory capital. These effects were strongest for banks with limited liquidity buffers and high collateral utilisation. While internal capital markets partly shield domestic subsidiaries within banking groups, foreign subsidiaries receive less support, pointing to persistent fragmentation in cross-border liquidity allocation and uneven monetary policy transmission across the euro area.
Nothing contributes so much to the prosperity and happiness of a country as high profits