March 2017 issue contents
International Banking and Cross-Border Effects of Regulation: Lessons from Germany

by Jana Ohlsa, Marcus Pramora, and Lena Tonzerb

Abstract

We analyze the inward and outward transmission of regulatory changes through German banks' (international) loan portfolio. Overall, our results provide evidence for international spillovers of prudential instruments. These spillovers are, however, quite heterogeneous between types of banks and can only be observed for some instruments. For instance, domestic affiliates of foreign-owned global banks reduce their loan growth to the German economy in response to a tightening of sector-specific capital buffers, local reserve requirements, and loan-to-value ratios in their home country. Furthermore, from the point of view of foreign countries, tightening reserve requirements is effective in reducing lending inflows from German banks. Finally, we find that business and financial cycles matter for lending decisions.

JEL Codes: F30, G01, G21, G28.

 
Full article (PDF, 34 pages, 593 kb)


a Deutsche Bundesbank 
b Halle Institute for Economic Research