The past decade following the global economic crisis (2008-09) will be certainly marked as the era of historically low interest rates, while the current juncture of COVID-19 pandemic outbreak raises the occasion of another extended period of very low interest rates. Yields have been falling...

Staaten versinken im Schuldensumpf, Sparer werden mit Negativzinsen enteignet, Volksparteien verlieren dramatisch an Zustimmung. Die Symptome sprechen eine beunruhigende Sprache. Stehen wir vor einem sogenannten perfekten Sturm, bei dem verschiedene Komponenten ungünstig zusammentreffen und...

Negative monetary policy rates are associated with a particular friction because the remuneration of retail deposits tends to be floored at zero. We investigate whether this friction affects banks’ reactions when the policy rate is lowered to negative levels, compared to a standard rate cut in...

The negative interest rate policy (NIRP) has been in place in the euro area since June 2014. While the NIRP can provide additional monetary accommodation in the situation where the neutral rate of interest is most likely negative, there are also unintended consequences for banks’ profitability...