欧洲央行-穷人、富人和货币政策的信贷渠道（英）

Working Paper Series The poor, the rich, and the credit channel of monetary policy Manthos Delis, Annalisa Ferrando, Klaas Mulier, Steven Ongena Disclaimer: This paper should not be reported as representing the views of the European Central Bank (ECB). The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the ECB. No 3058 AbstractMonetary policy can have contrasting effects o n e conomic i nequality v ia d istinct channels. We examine the effect w orking v ia t he c redit c hannel, w hereby m onetary p olicy induces heterogeneous access to credit for business owners based on their wealth. Using unique data on business loan applications from small firms, we find that monetary expansions increase the bank’s likelihood to approve loan applications, particularly so for low-wealth entrepreneurs, translating to higher future income and wealth. Survey data from 19 euro area countries on loan applications by SMEs confirms these findings, and shows that the effect transmits especially via weakly capitalized and less liquid banks.Keywords: Monetary policy, bank credit, business loans, entrepreneurs’ private wealthJEL Codes: E51, E52, D63ECB Working Paper Series No 30581Non-technical summaryThis paper investigates a crucial question: do monetary policy changes impact business ownersdifferently based on their wealth levels, particularly through the credit channel?Monetarypolicy, which involves central banks’ actions to regulate the money supply and interest rates,plays a significant role in shaping economic conditions. It can influence economic inequality byaffecting individuals’ earnings and wealth accumulation. These effects occur through variouschannels, such as changes in salary income, business profits, and the valuation of investmentsand debts. However, there has been limited exploration of how the availability of credit, oraccess to loans, plays a part in this dynamic, especially among business owners with differingwealth levels.The study begins by exploring the theoretical underpinnings of the relationship between mon-etary policy and credit access. It suggests that banks often use a business owner’s personalwealth as a factor when evaluating loan applications. Wealthier business owners are typicallyperceived as lower-risk borrowers because their personal wealth can serve as collateral, or a formof security, for loans. This perception is particularly relevant for small and medium-sized enter-prises (SMEs), which frequently rely on banks for external financing. The paper hypothesizesthat during periods of expansionary monetary policy, characterized by lower interest rates andincreased liquidity, banks are more inclined to extend credit to business owners with less wealth.This is because banks, in their pursuit of higher yields, may relax their lending criteria and takeon more risk.The empirical analysis relies on two complementary data sets. The first data set comprises over130,000 loan applications of small and medium-s