Do better-capitalized banks lend less? Evidence from European banks

Abstract

We examine the link between bank capital and earning assets in five European countries during 1989–2012 using panel cointegration techniques. We find that higher bank capital is associated with a higher volume of earning assets, including bank loans. However, we also find some evidence that bank capitalization would impact negatively on the growth of bank lending at capital-to-asset ratios above 15%, which is below the ratio mandated for some UK-headquartered banks in the UK's 2013 Bank Reform Act.