The Impact of Quantitative Easing on UK Bank Lending: Why Banks Do Not Lend to Businesses?

42 Pages Posted: 5 Jun 2018

See all articles by Mahmoud Fatouh

Mahmoud Fatouh

Bank of England; University of Essex; Bank of England

Sheri M. Markose

University of Essex - Department of Economics

Simone Giansante

University of Palermo - Department of Economics, Business and Statistics; University of Bath - School of Management

Date Written: May 1, 2018

Abstract

The growing proportion of UK bank lending to the financial sector reached a peak in 2007 just before the onset of the Global Financial Crisis (GFC). This marks a trend in the dwindling amount of bank lending to private sector non-financial corporations (PNFCs), which was exacerbated with the Great Recession. Many central banks aimed to revive bank lending with quantitative easing (QE) and unconventional monetary policy. We propose an agent based computational economics (ACE) model which combines the main factors in the economic environment of QE and Basel regulatory framework to analyse why UK banks do not prioritize lending to non-financial businesses. The lower bond yields caused by QE encourage big firms to substitute away from bank borrowing to bond issuance. In addition, the risk weight regime of Basel I/II on capital induces banks to favour mortgages over business loans to small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The combination of lower bond yields and Basel II/III capital requirements on banks, which, respectively, impact demand and supply of credit in the UK, plays a role in the drop of bank loans to businesses. The ACE model aims to reinstate policy regimes that form constraints and incentives for the behaviour of market participants to provide the causal factors in observed macro-economic phenomena.

Keywords: monetary policy, quantitative easing, bank lending, agent-based modelling, gilt yields, capital adequacy requirements, risk weighted assets

JEL Classification: E51, E52, E58, G02

Suggested Citation

Fatouh, Mahmoud and Markose, Sheri M. and Giansante, Simone, The Impact of Quantitative Easing on UK Bank Lending: Why Banks Do Not Lend to Businesses? (May 1, 2018). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3183314 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3183314

Mahmoud Fatouh (Contact Author)

Bank of England ( email )

Threadneedle Street
London, EC2R 8AH
United Kingdom

University of Essex ( email )

Wivenhoe Park
Colchester, CO4 3SQ
United Kingdom

Bank of England ( email )

Threadneedle Street
London, EC2R 8AH
United Kingdom

Sheri M. Markose

University of Essex - Department of Economics ( email )

Wivenhoe Park
Colchester CO4 3SQ
United Kingdom
01206 87 2742 (Phone)

Simone Giansante

University of Palermo - Department of Economics, Business and Statistics ( email )

Viale delle Scienze
Palermo, 90100
Italy

University of Bath - School of Management ( email )

Claverton Down
Bath, BA2 7AY
United Kingdom

HOME PAGE: http://people.bath.ac.uk/sg473/index.html

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