RESEARCH

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Working Papers

Real Effects of Financial Market Integration: Evidence from an ECB Collateral Framework Change

(P. Hüttl & Matthias Kaldorf)

This paper studies the effects of harmonizing collateral policy in a monetary union. In 2007, the European Central Bank replaced national collateral lists with a single list specifying which assets euro area banks can pledge as collateral. Banks holding newly eligible assets experience a reduction in their cost of funding and increase loan supply compared to banks without such assets. The effect is driven by core banks increasing credit supply to riskier and less productive firms located in periphery countries. These firms in turn experience growth in employment and investment. Our results suggest that a harmonized collateral framework facilitates cross-border lending to borrowing-constrained firms and, thereby, increases financial market integration in a monetary union.

Download here: SSRN

They Who Pay the Piper Call the Tune: Bailouts and Political Connections of Bank Boards. (P. Hüttl)

This paper investigates the political ties of too-big-to-fail bank boards in crisis- times. I argue that, after a bailout, governments are likely to influence bank board compositions in order to secure control rights. Combining two novel datasets on political ties of banks and state aid in the European Union, I find that the number of politically connected board members increases by 24% following government support. Bailed-out banks with these new political ties perform better in terms of market capitalisation and valuation than bailed-out banks without these ties. This evidence suggests a role of political board members in providing valuable information during crisis times.

Download here: SSRN

When Credit Turns Radical: Evidence From the Spanish Financial Crisis? (P. Hüttl and S. Baumgartner)

This paper provides causal evidence on the effect of credit crunches on political radicalisation. We combine data on bank-firm connections and electoral outcomes at the city-level during the 2008-2014 Spanish Financial Crisis. First, we show that firms in a relationship with weak banks experience a reduction in their loan supply and employment growth. Next, we estimate the effects of unemployment on voting behaviour. We construct an instrument for unemployment based on the city-level exposure to foreign weak banks. We find that a one standard deviation increase in instrumented unemployment translates into a 7 percentage point increase in the radicalisation of voters.

TEACHING

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Financial Intermediation (undergrad level), Prof Max Bruche

Finance Theory (graduate level), Prof Alex Stomper

Advanced Corporate Finance (graduate level), Prof Tim Adam

CONFERENCES

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Bank of Finland Workshop on Banking and Institutions, Helsinki (August 2022)

29th AEFIN Finance Forum, Santiago de Compostela (July 2022)

HU-IWK Joint Junior Seminar in Finance, Halle (June 2022)

Financial Economics Meeting, Paris (June 2022)

Bankenworkshop, University of Münster (November 2021)

Day-Ahead Workshop on Financial Regulation, University of Zurich (October 2021)