Very low policy rates as well as the substantial redesign of rules and supervisory institutions have changed background conditions for the Euro Area's financial intermediary sector substantially. Both policy initiatives have been targeted at improving societal welfare. And their potential side...

We study the impact of increasingly negative central bank policy rates on banks' propensity to become undercapitalized in a financial crisis (`SRisk'). We find that the risk impact of negative rates depends on banks' business models: Large banks with diversified income streams are perceived as...