Financial Liberalization Process Research Articles

Bank Lending Rates and Financial Structure in Italy: A Case Study

The paper notes that the high degree of stickiness of bank lending rates observed in Italy in the past is related to constraints on competition within the banking and financial markets. Using individual data for 63 local Italian banks in a variety of financial environments, it discusses the effect on the lending rate determination process of the recent sweeping financial liberalization in Italy. The paper also discusses the role of the discount rate in speeding up the adjustment process of bank interest rates, and the pros and cons of its possible indexation.

Informal credit markets and economic development in Taiwan

Taiwan is a case which shows how informal credit markets help to compensate for the limitations of the formal financial system, especially in satisfying the needs of medium and small enterprises. Government regulations and policies affect the way participants in informal credit markets solve selection, enforcement and incentive problems. Recent changes demonstrate the continued resilience and relevance of informal credit markets during a process of financial liberalization.

Bank Lending Rates and Financial Structure in Italy: A Case Study

This paper discusses the relation between the financial structure and the determination of bank lending rates in Italy. It notes that the high degree of stickiness of bank lending rates observed in Italy in the past was related to constraints on competition within the banking and financial markets. In this light, it discusses the effect on the lending rate determination process of the sweeping financial liberalization process that characterized the last few years. The paper discusses also the role of the discount rate in speeding up the adjustment process of bank interest rates, and the pros and cons of its possible indexation. The empirical analysis is characterized by use of microeconomic (individual bank) data for a group of 63 Italian banks operating in locally different financial environments. This approach allows the identification of some aspects of the relation between financial structure and lending rate stickiness that were not highlighted in previous studies.

Bank Lending Rates and Financial Structure in Italy: A Case Study

This paper discusses the relation between the financial structure and the determination of bank lending rates in Italy. It notes that the high degree of stickiness of bank lending rates observed in Italy in the past was related to constraints on competition within the banking and financial markets. In this light, it discusses the effect on the lending rate determination process of the sweeping financial liberalization process that characterized the last few years. The paper discusses also the role of the discount rate in speeding up the adjustment process of bank interest rates, and the pros and cons of its possible indexation. The empirical analysis is characterized by use of microeconomic (individual bank) data for a group of 63 Italian banks operating in locally different financial environments. This approach allows the identification of some aspects of the relation between financial structure and lending rate stickiness that were not highlighted in previous studies.

The dynamics of the EMS in the light of European financial integration: Some reflections from a French perspective

The purpose of this article is to study some implications of the financial liberalization which is taking place in the European Economic Community (EEC) and is supposed to be completed by the end of 1992. Four aspects are successively tackled: (i) the features of the European Monetary System (EMS) which must be underlined when assessing the process of financial liberalization, (ii) the basic scenarios for the evolution of the EMS, (iii) the positive and normative considerations concerning these scenarios, and (iv) some other implications of the financial liberalization.

Competition and the transition of finance in Japan and the United States

Financial liberalization since the mid-1970s has increased the role of competitive forces in both the Japanese and U.S. financial systems. This article assesses the role of competition as an explicit objective of the financial liberalization process and, in particular, focuses on recent arguments made about the relative degree of competition between the two financial systems. The article argues that enhanced competition has never been a major objective of financial reform and that the U.S. financial system has been and remains more competitive even after extensive liberalization in Japan.