EBA launches its Staff Papers series

The European Banking Authority (EBA) launched today its Staff Papers series, which provides a platform for EBA staff to disseminate research and thematic analyses to a wider public. The EBA Staff Papers series will make available selected studies on financial regulation, supervisory policy and legal issues of general interest with the aim of stimulating discussion and public debate. 

 

The Executive Director in welcoming the launch of the EBA Staff Papers series said: "Staff papers will be an important vehicle for the dissemination of research done by our staff and will contribute to the public debate in the supervisory and regulatory community and among a wide range of stakeholders".

 

The first two papers included in the series are: "Sharing the Pain? Credit Supply and Real Effects of Bank Bail-ins", co-authored by EBA staff member Samuel Da Rocha Lopes with Thorsten Beck and F. Silva from the Cass Business School, and "Identification of EU banks' business models" co-authored by EBA staff members Marina Cernov and Teresa Urbano.

 

The paper "Sharing the Pain? Credit Supply and Real Effects of Bank Bail-ins" analyses the credit supply and real sector effects of bank bail-ins and raises a fundamental follow-up question, which is a source of concern among regulators and policy-makers, particularly in Europe:  could more exposed firms compensate the credit supply tightening by accessing funds from other banks less affected by the shock, and were there any real effects associated with the intervention? 

 

The authors show that firms more exposed to the bail-in did not suffer a reduction of overall credit after the intervention when compared to less exposed firms. While banks more exposed to the bail-in significantly reduced credit supply at the intensive margin, affected firms compensated the overall credit tightening with other sources of funding. This issue is particularly important in the context of SMEs, which rely significantly on existing banking relationships.

 

The paper "Identification of EU banks' business models" proposes a standardised classification of business models of EU banks. The work is based on a rich and unique dataset collected for the first time for the full population of EU banks at individual level. The proposed classification approach combines both a qualitative and a quantitative component. The qualitative component is based on an expert knowledge of the supervisory authority, which is confirmed or challenged by quantitative indicators. The business model categorisation can provide the supervisory and regulatory authorities with a benchmark for classifying institutions for a more structured and consistent approach to regulatory impact assessment, analysing trends and risks, proportionality, and supervision.

The views expressed in the staff papers are those of the EBA staff members and do not represent the views of the EBA or of its Board of Supervisors. Moreover, the responsibility for the accuracy of the statements contained in the contributions rests with the author(s).