The Activity of the Banking and Shadow Banking Sector vs. Lending Standards in Selected Euro Area Countries: A Wavelet Approach

Shadow banking activities can be associated with the potential financial instability because these activities are realised outside the regulated banking sector. The aim of the paper is to assess the relationship between the banking and shadow banking activities and lending standards imposed by banking institutions in nine Euro Area countries using a method of regression and correlation analysis and a wavelet approach. We use quarterly data over the period 2003-2013. When measuring the shadow banking activity at national level, the shadow banking activities are most extensive in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain. We conclude that banking institutions originated fewer loans in reaction to tighter lending standards (imposed by these banking institutions on their loans). However, the expected positive impact of tighter lending standards on loans provided by shadow banking institutions is not confirmed. We can also admit flexible reactions of OFIs to a current economic situation during the analysed period while the behaviour of MFIs followed a long-term strategy, i.e. banks did not react to short-term objectives as frequently as non-banks. In this context, we can conclude that banks met their stabilising role in the economy while non-banks tried to fill up gaps in the financial markets.