Financial Structure, Bank Lending Rates, and the Transmission Mechanism of Monetary Policy

Angeliki Kourelis and Carlo Cottarelli

No 1994/039, IMF Working Papers from International Monetary Fund

Abstract: The stickiness of bank lending rates with respect to money market rates is often regarded as an obstacle to the smooth transmission of monetary policy impulses. Yet, no systematic measure of the different degree of lending rate stickiness across countries has been attempted. This paper provides such a measure. It also relates the different degree of lending rate stickiness to structural features of the financial system, such as the existence of barriers to competition, the degree of development of financial markets, and the ownership structure of the banking system. Thus, the paper provides further evidence on the relationship between structural financial policies and monetary policy, as well as on the relevance of credit markets for the monetary policy transmission mechanism. The role of administered discount rates in speeding up the. adjustment of lending rates is also discussed.

Keywords: WP; lending rate; money market rate; rate stickiness; prime rate; transmission mechanism; Treasury bill rate; Money markets; Discount rates; Bank credit; Commercial banks; Competition; Africa (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 66
Date: 1994-03-01
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (308)

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