How Did Depositors Respond to COVID-19?

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Levine, Ross; Lin, Chen; Tai, Mingzhu; Xie, Wensi
• 署名单位: University of California System; University of California Berkeley; University of Hong Kong; Chinese University of Hong Kong
• 刊物名称: REVIEW OF FINANCIAL STUDIES
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0893-9454
• DOI: 10.1093/rfs/hhab062
• 发表日期: 2021
• 页码: 5438
• 关键词: LIQUIDITY RISK; banks

摘要

Why did banks experience massive deposit inflows during the pandemic? We discover that deposit interest rates at bank branches in counties with higher COVID-19 infection rates fell by more than rates at branches-even branches of the same bank-in counties with lower infection rates. Credit drawdowns, national policies, such as the Payment Protection Program, and a flight-to-safety do not account for these cross-branch changes in deposit rates. Evidence suggests that higher local COVID-19 infection rates are associated with households' greater anxiety about future job and income losses, anxiety that induces households to reduce spending and increase deposits.