QEP and Bank Liquidity Creation: Evidence from Japan

Elisabeta Pana, Illinois Wesleyan University

Abstract

The 2001-2006 Japanese quantitative easing policy (QEP) represents the most prominent example of unconventional monetary policy used prior to the recent financial crisis. This paper contributes to the current debate over the effectiveness of Japan’s QEP by documenting the changes in absolute amount of liquidity created by Japanese banks during the period of 2001-2007. Using the liquidity creation measure developed by Berger and Bouwman (2009), we document the impact of macroeconomic factors and bank characteristic on liquidity creation. The analysis is conducted in a multivariate dynamic panel regression framework using a dataset comprised of 120 Japanese banks containing balance sheet as well as profit & loss account variables.