Bank Margins and Profits in a World of Negative Rates

By investigating the influence of negative interest rate policy (NIRP) on bank margins and profitability, this paper identifies country- and bank- specific characteristics that amplify or weaken the effect of NIRP on bank performance. Using a dataset comprising 7,359 banks from 33 OECD member countries over 2012\u201316 and a difference-in-differences methodology, we find that bank margins and profits fell in NIRP-adopter countries compared to countries that did not adopt the policy. Moreover, this adverse NIRP effect depends on bank specific-characteristics such as size, funding structure, business models, assets repricing and product \u2013 line specialization. The effectiveness of the pass-through mechanism of NIRP can also be affected by the characteristics of a country's banking system, namely, the level of competition and the prevalence of fixed/floating lending rates

Bank funding constraints and stock liquidity

This paper examines the relationship between bank marginal funding constraints and stock liquidity. Using bank credit default swap (CDS) spreads we show that increased funding constraints weaken bank stock liquidity (as measured by liquidity tightness, depth, and resilience). This effect strengthens during crises periods. Deteriorating bank stock liquidity is in turn priced into excess stock returns. In addition, we find that during liquidity crises, monetary expansion can break the relationship between funding costs and stock liquidity. Heightened monetary policy uncertainty, however, strengthens this relation

Firm ESG reputation risk and debt choice

Using a novel sample covering 3783 US public firms from 2007 to 2020, we examine how negative media coverage of firm‐level environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices affects a firm's debt choice. We find that firms with higher ESG reputation risk rely more on public bond than bank loan. The social and governance components, in particular, matter. Moreover, firms that receive more negative news coverage display a higher propensity to issue new bonds as opposed to securing new bank debt. Overall, our study presents empirical evidence on the relation between firm ESG reputation risk and debt financing

3-Methyl-4-(3-methyl­phen­yl)-5-(2-pyridyl)-4H-1,2,4-triazole

In the mol­ecule of the title compound, C15H14N4, the triazole ring is oriented at dihedral angles of 30.8 (2) and 67.4 (2)° with respect to the pyridine and benzene rings, respectively. The crystal structure is stabilized by C—H⋯N hydrogen-bonding inter­actions, forming chains of mol­ecules along [01]

Effect of Baicalin on inflammatory mediator levels and microcirculation disturbance in rats with severe acute pancreatitis

Objective: To investigate the effect of Bacailin on inflammatory mediator levels and microcirculation disturbance in severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) rats and explore its therapeutic mechanism on this disease. Methods: SAP model rats were randomly divided into model control group and Baicalin treated group, 45 rats in each group. The same number of normal rats were included in sham-operated group. These groups were further subdivided into 3 h, 6 h and 12 h subgroups, respectively (15 rats in each subgroup). At 3, 6 and 12 hours after operation, rats were killed to conduct the following experiments: (1) to examine the mortality rates of rats, the ascites volume and pancreatic pathological changes in each group; (2) to determine the contents of amylase, PLA~2~, TXB~2~, PGE~2~, PAF and IL-1[beta]; in blood as well as the changes in blood viscosity.Results: (1) Compared to model control group, treatment with Baicalin is able to improve the pathological damage of the pancreas, lower the contents of amylase and multiple inflammatory mediators in blood, decrease the amount of ascitic fluid and reduce the mortality rates of SAP rats; (2) at 3 hours after operation, the low-shear whole blood viscosity in Baicalin treated group was significantly lower than that in model control group;at 12 hours after operation, both the high-shear and low-shear whole blood viscosity in Baicalin treated group were also significantly lower than those in model control group.Conclusion: Baicalin, as a new drug, has good prospects in the treatment of SAP since it can exert therapeutic effects on this disease through inhibiting the production of inflammatory mediators, lowering blood viscosity, improving microcirculation and mitigating the pathological damage of the pancreas