[Publications]

The Effect of Asset Encumbrance on Bank Behavior: Evidence from the Introduction of Covered Bonds in Norway

Forthcoming in the Journal of the European Economic Association (2025), Working paper version 2024, Norges Bank Working Paper 6/2021 (Previous title: Covered bonds and bank portfolio rebalancing)

with Jin Cao (Norges Bank) and Ragnar Juelsrud (Norges Bank)

Conferences: FMA Europe 2023*, AEA 2022, Econometric Society European Winter Meetings 2021, DGF Innsbruck 2021 , NBR Spring Institute 2021*

Seminar presentations: IFN (Research Institute of Industrial Economics) Stockholm, Sveriges Riksbanken, TU Dresden, Lund University, University of Essex, Bank of Lithuania, Bank of Slovakia, Norges Bank, Stockholm Business School, ZEW Mannheim, Otto-von-Guercke University of Magdeburg Faculty Research Seminar, Norges Bank Brown Bag

*presented by co-author

We use the introduction of covered bonds in Norway in 2007 together with administrative and supervisory data at the bank- and loan-level to investigate the effect of asset encumbrance on the composition of bank balance sheets and bank risk. We show that covered bonds - despite being collateralized with mortgages - leads to a shift in bank lending from mortgages to corporate loans. The marginal corporate borrower is young and low-rated, suggesting that overall credit risk increases. At the same time, we find that total balance sheet liquidity increases. Overall, the beneficial effects of increased liquidity on bank risk outweighs any negative effects of increased credit risk, ultimately reducing risk premia on total and unsecured funding. The effects are driven by banks with low initial liquidity and high risk-adjusted returns on firm lending.

Complexity and bank risk during the financial crisis

Economics Letters 150: 118-121 (2017)

with Thomas Krause (Danmarks Nationalbank) and Lena Tonzer (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam , IWH)

ECOBATE 2016

We construct a novel dataset to measure banks’ complexity and relate it to banks’ riskiness. The sample covers stock listed Euro area banks from 2007 to 2014. Bank stability is significantly affected by complexity, whereas the direction of the effect differs across complexity measures.

[Working Papers]

CLO Trading of Brown Loans [current version SSRN]

with Kathrin Hackenberg , Viktoria Klaus (KIT Karlsruhe) and Sven Klingler (BI Norwegian Business School)

Swedish Conference in Economics 2024, CEPR We_ARE seminar series 2024, Goethe University/SAFE 2024, AFA 2024*, Young Scholars Nordic Finance Workshop (2023), ECB Green Seminar Series (2023), EEA 2023*, NBR Spring Institute 2023 Norway, ZEW Mannheim Conference on Ageing and Sustainable Finance 2023, WiMFEH DIW 2023*, FERN Seminar KIT (2023)*, Research Seminar Obergurgl (2023)*

*presented by co-author

Covered in: In the Spotlight

Collateralized Loan Obligations (CLOs) are the main investors in leveraged loans, and we show that they purchase more loans from carbon-intensive (``brown”) industries during episodes of substantial negative news about climate change. We argue that CLOs face less divestment pressure from their investor base, enabling them to exploit significant price discounts for brown loans during these episodes. The increased purchases of brown loans are especially pronounced for bank-affiliated CLOs whose managers signed the Principles for Responsible Investing (PRI). Our findings suggest that CLOs offer banks an indirect way of keeping their exposure to brown industries while publicly committing to responsible investing.

Buy now pay (less) later : Leveraging Private BNPL Data in Consumer Banking [current version SSRN]

with Christine Laudenbach (SAFE and Goethe University Frankfurt), Elin Molin (Lund University) and Kasper Roszbach (Norges Bank)

BIS-CEPR-Gerzensee-SFI - Conference on Financial Intermediation, UD/Philly Fed Fintech & Financial Institutions Conference (scheduled spring 2025), 7th CEPR Summer Conference on Financial Intermediation (scheduled summer 2025)

Norges Bank Working Paper, VOXEU column, SUERF Policy Brief No 1127

Using unique data on more than one million bank loan applications from a BNPL provider with a banking license, we examine the link between BNPL use and access to regular bank credit. BNPL adoption allows banks to assess future unsecured loan customers' quality, benefiting both the bank and creditworthy BNPL users. The extracted information is not shared with other institutions. Customers with good BNPL payment histories are more likely to receive consumer loans at lower interest rates. Importantly, greater access to unsecured loans does not harm BNPL customers, as they exhibit better repayment behavior compared to similar borrowers.

Banking on Coal, Still: Bank funding of fossil fuels around Germany’s Coal Exit [current version SSRN]

This paper analyzes the impact of Germany’s 2020 decision to phase out coal-fired power generation on coal financing by German and non-German banks. Findings reveal that while German banks reduced overall fossil fuel funding compared to their international counterparts, their coal financing practices remain largely unchanged. Globally, there is no evidence of a decrease in coal funding; instead, banks appear to have increased bond underwriting for coal companies following the German exit decision. These results highlight the critical role of bank funding in the energy transition, with sustained financial support for high emission energy production.

Follow-thy-neighbor? Spillovers of targeted asset purchases within agglomerations

- Submitted -

IWH Discussion Papers No.22/2019*, IWH Best Paper Award 2021 (received January 2022)

AEA 2022, Day-ahead workshop University of Zurich 2021, DGF Doctoral Workshop Innsbruck 2021 , WEAI 2021, Norges Bank Brown Bag 2019, EEA Manchester 2019, PHD consortium at the Spanish Finance Forum 2019, WIMFEH Berlin 2019, AFA (2019)

This paper demonstrates how spillovers between firms can exacerbate the effect of targeted asset purchase programs on the economy. Targeted asset purchases are an important tool of the European Central Bank to contain a resurgence of the sovereign debt crisis in times of rising interest rates. Firms linked to banks affected by targeted purchases reduce investment and there are negative spillovers on the investments of firms operating within the same agglomeration. The result is important for two reasons: First, it provides evidence on how targeted purchases can slow down economic growth. Second, it shows the importance to consider spillovers when assessing crisis measures by central banks, because spillovers can cover up direct effects.

*Formerly circulated under the title "Win-win or joy and sorrow? Spillover of asset purchases within the real sector"

Targeted asset purchases and business dynamism

- Submitted-

with Manfred Antoni (IAB Insitute for Employment Research Nuremberg)

Available on SSRN (2024), IWH Discussion Papers No.12/2019*

ProdTalk No.7 2021, Chicago Financial Institutions Conference**, GdRE Besancon 2019, C.R.E.D.I.T. 2018 (Poster), FINEST Workshop 2018, 7th CompNet Annual Conference 2018

**scheduled presentation by co-author was cancelled due to Covid.

Do targeted asset purchases alter business dynamics of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and their plants? In July 2022, the European Central Bank (ECB) established the Transmission Protection Instrument (TPI), which allows for targeted asset purchases to prevent a resurgence of the sovereign debt crisis during times of rising interest rates. To investigate unintended consequences of such crisis tools, we assess a similar program, conducted by the ECB between 2010 and 2012. We find that plants linked to banks exposed to the targeted asset purchases are approximately 20% less likely to exit. We observe heterogeneous effects depending on the capitalization of banks and productivity of firms.

*Formerly circulated under the title "Do asset purchase programs shape industry dynamics? Evidence from the ECB's SMP on plant entries and exits."

[Work-in-Progress]

Geopolitical Risks and Firm Financing, with Vahid Saadi (IE Madrid)
Crypto asset investments (joined work with Anders Vilhelmsson (Lund University), Elin Molin (Lund University) and the largest Swedish crypto broker Safello, see Safello's press release on the collaboration here.
Do Banks React to Firm-Level Carbon Emission Disclosure? Evidence from the UK Mandatory Disclosure Act, with Pia Huettl (DIW Berlin)