The author sets out a methodology for analyzing episodes of high real interest rates in emerging market economies. He reviews the literature on what determines spreads in deposit rates and loan rates. Then he links the causes of interest rate spreads by explicitly modeling the incentive effect...

The study of bank interest rate spreads is central to our understanding of the process of financial intermediation. Data limitations generally restrict empirical analyses to interest rate spreads that are constructed from bank income statements and balance sheets. In this paper we make use of a...

Financial liberalization has not lived up to expectations, at least as far as interest rate spreads are concerned. Over the past decade, many countries in Latin America and the Caribbean have reformed their financial sectors and reaped major economic benefits as a result. However, the...

Over the last decade, many countries in Latin America have eliminated interest rate ceilings, reduced reserve requirements, and stopped direct credit controls. These market-oriented reforms have encouraged financial deepening, thereby producing considerable economic benefits to the countries....

The study of bank interest rate spreads is central to our understanding of the process of financial intermediation. Data limitations generally restrict empirical analyses to interest rate spreads that are constructed from bank income statements and balance sheets. In this paper we make use of a...