banking intermediation and its implications for monetary policy joseph e. stiglitz bali, december...
TRANSCRIPT
BANKING INTERMEDIATION AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR
MONETARY POLICY
Joseph E. StiglitzBali, December 2004
OUTLINE
The importance of banks The incentives for disintermediation Consequences of disintermediation Leveling the playing field
THE IMPORTANCE OF FINANCE
Finance—banks and capital markets are like the brain of the economy- They gather, process, and disseminate
information- On the basis of which scarce capital is
allocated How well they perform their task has
much to do with how well the economy performs overall
THE IMPORTANCE OF BANKS
Even in developed countries, most finance (other than self-finance) is in the form of debt- Explained by information asymmetries which
limit the role of equity markets- Limitations even greater in developing
countries Banks are the major source of funding for
investments in small and medium enterprises- Especially important in developing countries
SOURCE OF FUNDING
Brazil 2.72% 1.53% 2.14% 93.61%Chile 2.63% 7.49% 4.73% 85.14%Czech Republic 4.20% 3.93% 1.14% 90.74%India 2.19% 0.50% 1.11% 96.20%Indonesia -2.64% 3.50% -0.83% 99.98%Kazakhstan -2.36% 11.88% -1.20% 91.67%Malaysia 0.27% 4.02% 0.00% 95.72%Mexico 3.66% 1.40% 3.38% 91.56%Philippines 1.06% -0.17% -0.04% 99.16%Poland 3.54% 1.86% 8.56% 86.04%Thailand 15.29% -3.28% 6.55% 81.44%
New Equity/Gross
Capital Formation
Bank Loan/Gross
Capital Formation
Bond/Gross
Capital Formation
Internal Sources/Gross Capital
Formation
Gross Capital Formation By Source in Select Countries (Average: 1991-2003)
Clearly most of the capital formation is financed through retained earnings!Equity is relatively small in all countries except ThailandOnly in Poland and Thailand is bond financing substantial
Source: Compiled from WDI data
SOURCE OF FUNDING
Change in Source of Funding in Select Countries (Un-weighted Average of 11 countries – Brazil, Chile, Czech Republic, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Philippines, Poland and Thailand):
1990 2002
1.66% -0.05%
2.10% 3.70%
0.40% 3.66%
New Equity/Gross Capital
Formation
Bank Loan/Gross Capital
Formation
Bond/Gross Capital
Formation
Source: Compiled from WDI data
WHY BANKS? Allocating resources—determining credit
worthiness—is information intensive Real market failures in information in
securities markets- Problems of appropriability
• In efficient markets, all information is efficiently transmitted through prices• Grossman-Stiglitz showed that markets could not be
fully efficient• Confirmed by empirical evidence• Still, there is important ‘free rider’ problem—others
benefiting from investments in information• Securities markets often ‘free ride’ off of banks
- Bonds will only be issued if firm has good credit line
Problems of conflict of interest• Analysts paid by investment banks• Who compete for business of issuers of securities• So evident in U.S. during the roaring 90s• Contributed to bubble:
– Which resulted in massive misallocation of resources during boom
– And massive wastage of resources in inevitable bust that followed
» Estimated cumulative gap between actual and potential output 2001-2004 $1.7 trillion
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
FURTHER ADVANTAGES OF BANKS
Greater information allows better adjustment to cyclical conditions- Distinguishing between firms that are
temporarily in trouble and those that have more long run problem
- More counter-cyclical lending than provided by capital markets
- Equity dependent firms may be more sensitive to equity prices, which are highly volatile
Monitoring– Key to ensuring economic efficiency– Banks are central part of corporate governance
• Check on management• More effective than shareholders when shares are
widely dispersed (free rider problem—all shareholders benefit when company is well managed)
– But can be undermined when there are too close links between corporations and banks or between commercial and investment banks (one of justifications of Glass-Steagall Act in U.S.)
• Again, problems manifested in U.S. during roaring 90s
FURTHER ADVANTAGES OF BANKS
FURTHER ADVANTAGES OF BANKS
Countries with good banking systems have had faster economic growth Portugal and Ireland But bad lending practices may hinder growth
Importance of local information– Reason for restrictions on national banks in U.S.– Criticism of financial market liberalization in
developing countries• International banks often less interested in lending to
small and medium size firm
– Regions in U.S. with weak banking system have not done as well as those with strong banking
FURTHER ADVANTAGES OF BANKS
Banks play central role in economic stabilization– Major channel of monetary policy is
availability of credit to small and medium size enterprises
– Probably much more important than effect of real interest rates
– If banking base is narrow, then impact of monetary authorities is more narrow• Monetary policy more distortionary• Direct impact more concentrated
BUT LIMITS TO BANKING Limited diversification/spreading of risks Limited secondary market for bank loans
- Related to information asymmetries Information cost is high
– Securities markets seem to avoid costs– But either information is poor quality
• With poorer resource allocations– Or information costs have to be borne
somewhere in economic system– Securities markets may free ride off of banks– But then banks have to charge higher margins
—just shifting of burden of information costs
SHARE OF BANKING HAS DECLINED IN MANY COUNTRIES
Partly due to real disadvantages of banks in risk Partly due to false disadvantages arising from free rider problems Partly due to implicit taxes imposed on banks In some countries, increase in bank lending as percentage of GDP as a
result of expansion into consumer sector Will this undermine long term growth, as banks shift focus away from
investment?
Bank Credit as % of GDP:
1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003
Indonesia 59.9% 60.1% 62.5% 67.4% 62.7% 59.4% 55.7%
Philippines 84.5% 75.6% 69.2% 66.9% 62.6% 60.5% 59.4%
Malaysia 168.7% 167.2% 156.7% 148.2% 155.5% 154.2% 152.9%
Thailand 162.7% 164.1% 143.9% 121.2% 111.3% 116.0% 112.8%
Singapore NA 101.4% 98.8% 90.4% 102.9% 83.5% 88.4%
Korea 73.8% 84.0% 88.3% 93.0% 96.7% 101.9% 105.6%
IMPLICIT TAXES• Reserve requirements (when reserves do not pay
market interest)• Other requirements
– In U.S. CRA requirements– Capital adequacy requirements
• Greater regulation– Because of concern about systemic consequences of
bank failure– Especially when banks are too large to fail, and
government bears the cost of bail-out
• Those that rely on bank lending most affected by use of monetary policy to control economy– May face greater volatility in credit availability
CONSEQUENCES OF DISINTERMEDIATION
Central bank still able to use monetary policy to control economy (especially to dampen inflationary pressures)– Small and medium size enterprises do not have
alternative sources of finance– But there may have to be more ‘tightening’ to
have desired effect• Those who have direct access to capital markets shift
borrowing, freeing up funds for those who do not have access
But monetary policy is more distortionary– Effects felt more narrowly– On those who have to rely on banking system
for finance
CONSEQUENCES OF DISINTERMEDIATION
Quality of information in capital markets may deteriorate– Deterioration in quality of corporate governance– So resources will be less well allocated– And growth may be impaired– And there may be more pro-cyclical lending
Social objectives pursued by banks (community reinvestment requirements) not as effectively pursued in securities markets
LEVELING THE PLAYING FIELD
Some of disintermediation is a result of special burdens (implicit tax) imposed on banks
Banks do have some advantages in some countries—deposit insurance
But not large enough to offset disadvantages
Important to level the playing field
LEVELING THE PLAYING FIELD
Paying interest on reserves Strengthening deposit insurance Strengthening regulation on securities
markets Imposing transactions taxes in securities
markets Separating out policy lending from
commercial banks Helping banks restart with a ‘clean slate’
IMPORTANT LESSON Old ‘wisdom’ that securities markets are
better than banks because they allow better diversification of risk ignored the importance of information
But the collection, processing, and use of information is the central function of financial system
New view sees banking institutions as central to the success of any economy, but especially in developing economies- Even though there will inevitably be some
disintermediation as economies grow and markets develop
CENTRAL BANKS Have an important role not only in macro-
economic management But also in ensuring that the financial
system overall is functioning well Including providing credit to all segments
of society– Especially to small and medium sized
enterprises This will require maintaining a vibrant
banking system Which will require sound regulation But also a more level playing field