How to release capital requirements in an economic downturn? Evidence from euro area credit register
研究了欧元区监管机构在新冠疫情初期推出的系统性资本减免措施对银行向企业放贷的影响，发现减免措施有效，但效果取决于是否影响股息分配和银行资本缓冲。
This paper investigates the impact of the first system-wide capital relief package adopted by euro area prudential authorities, to support bank lending to firms at the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. By leveraging confidential supervisory and credit register data, we uncover two main findings. First, capital relief measures support banks’ capacity to supply credit to firms. Second, the type of relief matters. Banks increase their credit supply in response to measures that reduce binding capital requirements and affect banks’ ability to distribute dividends. By contrast, discretionary relief measures that do not affect dividend policy are met with limited success. Moreover, requirement releases are more effective for banks with ex-ante lower capital headroom and for lending to smaller firms. These findings provide novel insights on the design of effective bank capital requirement releases in crisis times and, more generally, of policies to support bank credit in times of economic distress.