The Relationship between Federal Deficits and Real Interest Rates

Real interest rates fluctuated a great deal since the 1970s. In the 1980s federal deficits accelerated and their impact on both nominal and real interest rates gained lots of attention. Based on monthly and quarterly data from January 1971 to December 1997 it is found that federal deficits had significant positive effect on the real interest rates: Personal income or consumption are found to have significant positive impact on the real interest rates, whereas expected inflation and money supply are found to have negative impact on the real interest rates. These findings are consistent with the conventional economic theory.     

Interest Rates and Stock Prices: Evidence from Central and Eastern European Markets

We provide empirical evidence regarding the responses of Central and Eastern European capital markets to monetary policy via domestic and international short-term interest rate shocks. The analysis is conducted using a four-variable structural vector error correction model identified by means of permanent-transitory restrictions. The results indicate a noticeable effect of the international interest rate on stock market indexes in the cases of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Romania. Since no monetary policy autonomy exists in Bulgaria, Latvia, and Lithuania, we find support only for the inverse relationship between foreign interest rate and stock index prices.     

U.S. Real Interest Rates and Default Risk in Emerging Economies

This paper empirically investigates the impact of changes in U.S. real interest rates on sovereign default risk in emerging economies using the method of identification through heteroskedasticity. Policy‐induced increases in U.S. interest rates starkly raise default risk in emerging market economies. However, the overall correlation between U.S. real interest rates and the risk of default is negative, demonstrating that the effects of other variables dominate the anterior relationship.     

Convergence of Real Capital Market Interest Rates—Evidence from Inflation Indexed Bonds

This paper investigates the convergence of long‐term ex ante real interest rates (RIRs) obtained from Canadian, French, UK, and U.S. inflation indexed government bonds. In contrast to previous research, our evidence suggests full convergence in the long run and, hence, capital market integration. For the same sample period, global convergence is rejected for RIRs measured in conventional terms. From these results, we conclude that previous tests of the long‐run real interest rate parity might have suffered from weak measurement of real capital market interest rates.     

Real Interest Rate Parity: Long-Run and Short-Run Analysis Using Wavelets

In this article, long-run and short-run relationships among real interest rates in G-7 countries are empirically analyzed. The evidence suggests the existence of long-run relationships among these real interest rates. However, the long-run relationship is not an equality relationship. Short-run relationships are estimated using dynamic simultaneous equation models. They reveal that the real interest rates of non-U.S. G-7 countries react and adjust to long-run disequilibrium conditions. A more detailed analysis based on wavelet transform indicates the existence of both short-run and long-run relationships; however, strict interest rate parity does not seem to hold true.JEL Classification: C22, E43, G15     

利率、汇率调整对房地产价格的影响——基于理论与经验的研究

本文首先构建了适合我国国情的房地产价格与利率、汇率关系模型，然后利用该模型对我国12个城市房地产价格与利率、汇率的关系进行实证研究。研究结果显示，利率与房地产价格呈负向关系；汇率与房地产价格之间具有相同的变化趋势，与理论分析有较大差异，表明我国金融制度仍存在缺陷，逐步完善金融市场才能更好地发挥利率和汇率调节经济的功能。因此，我们认为房地产价格保持相对稳定是房地产业安全运行的关键，在完善的金融制度下正确的利率和汇率政策能在此方面发挥重要作用。     

中国信贷市场利率与经济波动:2004-2010

本文基于VAR和VEC模型对我国信贷市场利率与经济波动的关系进行实证分析。研究结果表明:(1)投资、消费对于信贷市场利率的冲击处于负的脉冲响应,投资的响应更显著。投资、消费对信贷市场利率的影响非常有限。(2)投资波动对产出波动起主要作用;产出对投资波动和消费波动的影响程度有限;(3)信贷市场利率与投资、消费、产出之间存在长期均衡关系。基于这些分析结论,文章提出若干政策建议。     

Interest Rates and Credit Risk

This paper explores the effects of shifts in interest rates on corporate leverage and default in the context of a dynamic model in which the link between leverage and default risk comes from the lower incentives of overindebted entrepreneurs to guarantee firm survival. The need to finance new investment pushes firms' leverage ratio above some state‐contingent target toward which firms gradually adjust through earnings retention. The response to interest rate rises and cuts is both asymmetric and heterogeneously distributed across firms. Our results help rationalize some of the evidence regarding the risk‐taking channel of monetary policy.     

The Structural Relation Between Mortgage and Market Interest Rates

This paper analyzes the dynamic relationship between primary and secondary mortgage markets and the short-term and long-term market interest rates. Using a series of monthly data on fixed rate mortgage rates and GNMA rates, we explore the dependence and speed of adjustment in these primary and secondary mortgage rates to each other as well as to the long and short-term government rates. The results indicate that residential mortgage rates in general, appear to follow the long-term rate and are not very sensitive to movements in the short-term interest rate.     

经济增长、利率对储蓄规模影响的协整分析

本文利用1978-2011年的储蓄、GDP和利率数据实证分析了经济增长、利率和储蓄规模之间的关系,结果发现：GDP和利率对于储蓄规模的增长都有着显著的影响,其中,GDP的影响更为显著.对此,政府应该重视这两个影响因素,切实用好宏观调控的手段,确保经济健康稳定发展.     

Sources of Bank Interest Rate Risk

We investigate bank stocks'sensitivity to changes in interest rates and the factors affecting this sensitivity. We focus on whether the exposure of commercial banks to interest rate risk is conditioned on certain balance sheet and income statement ratios. We find a significantly negative relation between bank stock returns and changes in interest rates over the period 1991–1996. We also find that bank characteristics measured from basic financial statement information explain bank stocks'sensitivity to interest rate changes. These results suggest that bank managers, analysts, and regulators can use this information to assess the relative risk exposure of banks.     

Optimal Monetary and Fiscal Policy with a Zero Bound on Nominal Interest Rates

I characterize optimal monetary and fiscal policy in a stochastic New Keynesian model when nominal interest rates may occasionally hit the zero lower bound. The benevolent policymaker controls the short‐term nominal interest rate and the level of government spending. Under discretionary policy, accounting for fiscal stabilization policy eliminates to a large extent the welfare losses associated with the presence of the zero bound. Under commitment, the gains associated with the use of the fiscal policy tool remain modest, even though fiscal stabilization policy is part of the optimal policy mix.     

Quantifying the Interest Rate Risk of Banks: Assumptions Do Matter

This paper analyses the robustness of the standardised framework proposed by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (2004b) to quantify the interest rate risk of banks. We generalise this framework and study the change in the estimated level of interest rate risk if the strict assumptions of the standardised framework are violated. Using data on the German universal banking system, we find that estimates of the interest rate risk are very sensitive to the framework's assumptions. We conclude that the results obtained using the standardised framework in its current specification should be treated with caution when used for supervisory and risk management purposes.     

The Response of Bank Retail Rates to Money Market Rates in the BRIC Economies: An Application of the Disaggregated GETS Model

The purpose of this paper is to examine the interest rate transmission mechanism for the emerging BRIC economies (Brazil, Russia, India, and China). We analyze the way interbank rates are transmitted to the bank retail rates, and we test the symmetry hypothesis. A disaggregated general-to-specific model is applied for estimating interest rate pass-through and examining whether retail rates respond symmetrically or asymmetrically to upward/downward interbank rate changes. Overall, our empirics show evidence of sluggish and incomplete pass-through from market rates to bank loan and deposit rates. We show that banks' speed of upward and downward adjustment behavior is symmetric in both loan and deposit markets.     

实际利率水平与经济增长关系研究

本文分两个阶段研究实际利率水平与经济增长之间的关系,发现1978年-1990年较高的实际存款利率水平降低了当期经济增长,反而推动滞后一期的经济增长;1991年-2005年,实际存款利率水平与经济增长呈正相关关系,实际贷款利率水平与经济增长呈负相关关系.     

An Investigation of the Impact of Interest Rates and Interest Rate Volatility on Australian Financial Sector Stock Return Distributions

Abstract:   This paper extends the existing literature by analysing the dual impact of changes in the interest rate and interest rate volatility on the distribution of Australian financial sector stock returns. In addition, a multivariate GARCH‐M model is used to analyse the impact of deregulation on the financial institutions sector. It was found that there is a consistent inter‐temporal trade off between risk and return over the different regulatory periods. Moreover, finance corporations were found to be highly sensitive to new shocks across the financial sector and deregulation increased the risk faced by finance corporations and small banks – effectively increasing the required rate of return and explaining the continued rationalisation of these sectors. Furthermore, deregulation has changed the fundamental relationship between interest rates and large bank stock excess returns from positive in the pre‐deregulation period to negative in the post‐deregulation period. This reflects the changing institutional environment from one of controlled credit rationing to a more competitive environment.     

Option Pricing under Stochastic Interest Rates: An Empirical Investigation

Using daily data of the Nikkei 225 index, call option prices and call money rates of the Japanese financial market,a comparison is made of the pricing performance of stock option pricing modelsunder several stochastic interest rate processes proposedby the existing term structure literature.The results show that (1) one option pricing modelunder a specific stochastic interest ratedoes not significantly outperformanother option pricing model under an alternative stochasticinterest rate, and (2) incorporating stochastic interest ratesinto stock option pricing does not contribute to the performanceimprovement of the original Black–Scholes pricing formula.     

Interest Rate Pass-Through in China: An Analysis of Chinese Commercial Banks

This study investigates the interest rate transmission in China. We analyze the extent to which the benchmark and wholesale interest rates are transmitted to the retail interest rates and focus particularly on the change in the interest rate pass-through after the interest rate liberalization. Using data of 16 listed banks from 2007Q1 to 2017Q3, we find that the pass-through is not yet complete. Even though interest rates have been liberalized on the policy level, the sensitivity of the retail interest rates to the wholesale rates has not increased enough as expected and may be explained by the market power of Chinese commercial banks.     

当前金融市场环境下我国商业银行利率风险的防范

传统的存贷款政策、落后的金融市场、利息损益调整的被动局面以及在国际金融业务中风险意识淡薄等原因，严重影响我国商业银行的经营效益，同时也带来巨大的经营风险。建议结合我国商业银行的实际情况及利率市场化的进程，分不同阶段确定不同的重点，循序渐进地进行利率风险管理。     

Assessing the Time-Varying Interest Rate Sensitivity of Real Estate Securities

Abstract

This paper examines the sensitivity of real estate securities to changes in both market and central bank interest rates. It is commonly viewed that the traded real estate market is one of the industry sectors most susceptible to interest rate movements. This is due to traditional high levels of borrowing, the impact of rate changes on property yields and indirectly upon occupational demand and thus rental income. The results which are the first to examine the UK sector, highlight the impact of interest rates on UK property companies, in relation to both returns and volatility. The paper also illustrates that this sensitivity is not confined to periods of high and volatile interest rates as the sample period under examination is characterized by historically low and stable rates.