Finance and Economics Discussion Series (FEDS)

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April 2017

An Empirical Economic Assessment of the Costs and Benefits of Bank Capital in the US

Simon Firestone, Amy Lorenc and Ben Ranish

Abstract:

We show that trade frictions in OTC markets result in inefficient private liquidity provision. We develop a dynamic model of market-based financial intermediation with a two-way interaction between primary credit markets and secondary OTC markets. Private allocations are generically inefficient because investors and firms fail to internalize how their actions affect liquidity in secondary markets. This inefficiency can lead to liquidity that is suboptimally low or high compared to the second best. Our analysis provides a rationale for the regulation and public provision of liquidity and the effect of quantitative easing or tightening on capital markets and investment.

Accessible materials (.zip)

Keywords: banking, capital, cost benefit

DOI: https://doi.org/10.17016/FEDS.2017.034

PDF: Full Paper

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Last Update: January 09, 2020