Discussion paper

DP15553 The Deposits Channel of Monetary Policy: A Critical Review

Drechsler, Savov, and Schnabl (2017) claim that increases in the monetary policy rate lead to reductions in bank deposits, which account for the negative effect on bank lending. This paper reviews their theoretical analysis, showing that the relationship between the policy rate and the equilibrium amount of deposits is in fact U-shaped. Then, it constructs an alternative model, based on a simple microfoundation for the households' demand for deposits, where an increase in the policy rate always increases the equilibrium amount of deposits. These results question the theoretical underpinnings of the "deposits channel" of monetary policy transmission.

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Citation

Repullo, R (2020), ‘DP15553 The Deposits Channel of Monetary Policy: A Critical Review‘, CEPR Discussion Paper No. 15553. CEPR Press, Paris & London. https://cepr.org/publications/dp15553