Risk taking and low longer-term interest rates: Evidence from the U.S. syndicated term loan market

Sirio Aramonte, Seung Jung Lee and Viktors Stebunovs

Journal of Banking & Finance, 2022, vol. 138, issue C

Abstract: We use supervisory data to investigate the ex-ante credit risk taken by different types of lenders in the U.S. syndicated term loan market during the LSAPs period. We find that nonbank lenders, mutual funds and structured-finance vehicles, take higher risk when longer-term interest rates decrease. The results are stronger for mutual funds that charge higher fees. Banks accommodate other lenders’ investment choices by originating riskier loans and selling them off. These results are consistent with “search for yield” by nonbanks and with a risk-taking channel of monetary policy. Over the sample we study, lower longer-term interest rates appear to have only a minimal effect on loan spreads.

Keywords: Syndicated term loans; Shared National Credit Program; Shadow banking; Zero lower bound; Search for yield; Risk-taking channel of monetary policy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: E43 E44 E52 E58 G11 G20 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jbfina:v:138:y:2022:i:c:s0378426619300354

DOI: 10.1016/j.jbankfin.2019.02.010

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