We identify the effects of negative interest rate policies on bank behavior using difference-in differences identification and data on all Swiss banks. First, we find that going negative can interrupt not only the pass-through from policy to deposit rates, but also that to mortgage rates....

We exploit a unique data set that features both un-intermediated mortgage requests and independent offers from multiple banks for each request. We show that households typically are not prudent risk managers but prioritize the minimization of current mortgage payments over the risk of possible...

Long-term fixed-rate mortgage contracts protect households against interest rate risk, yet most countries have relatively short interest rate fixation lengths. Using administrative data from the UK, the paper finds that the choice of fixation length tracks the life-cycle decline of credit risk...

We disentangle the demand and supply determinants of mortgage rate fixation periods. Our unique dataset features offers from multiple banks for each individual mortgage request. We how that households respond to the relative cost of different fixation periods. However, we also find that banks...

This paper shows the importance of interest rate risk and prepayment risk in fixed-rate mortgages in influencing banks’ securitization of mortgages. Banks with longer-maturity liabilities are more capable of taking the interest rate risk and therefore securitize fewer mortgages. In contrast,...

Using unique data of a survey among small and medium-sized German banks, we analyze various aspects of risk management over a short-term and medium-term horizon. We especially analyze the effect of a 200-bp increase in the interest level. We find that, in the first year, the impairments of...

This paper investigates how recent changes in market interest rates have affected risk-adjusted returns. Returns are adjusted for duration, a measure of interest rate risk. Prior to the 2007-2008 rate decrease, one-year Treasuries offered the best risk/return tradeoff. As a result of the rate...

Banks typically determine their capital levels by separately analysing credit and interest rate risk, but the interaction between the two is significant and potentially complex. We develop an integrated economic capital model for a banking book where all exposures are held to maturity. Our...

We investigate whether banks actively manage their exposure to interest rate risk in the short run. Using bank-level data of German banks for the period 2011Q4- 2017Q2, we find evidence that banks actively manage their interest rate risk exposure in their banking books: They take account of...

Banks typically determine their capital levels by separately analysing credit and interest rate risk, but the interaction between the two is significant and potentially complex. We develop an integrated economic capital model for a banking book where all exposures are held to maturity. Our...