The theme of this diploma thesis is the evaluation of the impact of very low (near zero, in the case of the ECB negative) interest rates at the housing market in the Czech Republic and Germany. The first part focuses on the transmission mecha- nism and a research of relevant literature. The second part reviews the impact of the repo rate on the mortgage lending rates and other mortgage market rates (EU- RIBOR, PRIBOR). The development of the basic macroeconomic indicators (GDP, unemployment, inflation) in relation to the housing and housing market situation is also being compared. Furthermore, the study focuses on the power that the owner occupation rate and the cost of rent in individual countries have in influence over the mortgage rate. Based on the results, conclusions are drawn regarding cur- rent developments at the housing markets.

Šiame darbe nagrinėjama, kokią reikšmę turi Lietuvos banko (LB) vykdoma pinigų politika šalies ekonomikai ir kaip priimti sprendimai veikia ekonomikos augimą, nedarbo lygį bei kainų stabilumą. Ekonomikos augimas čia matuojamas bendrojo vidaus produkto augimu, o kainų stabilumas - infliacijos lygiu. Teorinėje dalyje analizuojama LB vykdoma pinigų politika bei jos veikimas ECB sistemoje. Rašant darbą, atlikta mokslinė literatūros analizė. Analitinėje - tiriamojoje dalyje naudojami statistiniai – ekonometriniai metodai, t.y. statistinių duomenų grupavimas, sisteminimas, jų lyginimas, apdorojimas ir grafinis vaizdavimas, porinės ir daugialypės regresinės analizės metodas „SPSS“ programa, Tylio neatitikimo koeficiento vertinimas, Tayloro taisyklės vertinimas šių dienų kontekste. Atliekant tyrimą naudoti statistiniai duomenys, paimti iš Lietuvos banko, Europos centrinio banko, Eurostat ir OECD duomenų bazių. Panašia šio darbo tema buvo parengtas ir pristatytas straipsnis pavadinimu „Lietuvos banko vaidmuo ir galimybės ekonominės krizės laikotarpiu“ Šiaulių universiteto 11-oje studentų mokslinių darbų konferencijoje „Ekonomikos ir vadybos aktualijos“, užėmęs antrąją vietą. Straipsnį numatyta išspausdinti Šiaulių universiteto leidinyje „Jaunųjų mokslininkų darbai“. / The paper deals with the significance of monetary policy decisions of the Lithuanian Bank (LB) on economics of the state and with how the passed decisions influence economic growth, unemployment level and price stability. Economic growth here is measured by GDP growth, price stability by inflation level. In the theoretical part LB’s monetary policy and its operation in ECB system are analysed. While writing the paper, scientific analysis of literature was carried out. In the analytical and research part statistic econometric methods are used, i.e. statistic data grouping, systematizing, comparing, processing and graphical depicting, pair and multiple regression analysis method and SPSS software, Tyll’s non-compliance rate assessment, Taylor’s rule evaluation in modern context. During the research statistical data taken from Lithuanian Bank, European Central Bank, Eurostat and OECD data bases was used. Article was prepared and presented on similar topic “Lithuanian Bank’s Role and Opportunities during the Economic Crisis“ in Šiauliai University 11th students scientific conference “Economics and Managerial Urgencies“, which got the second place. The article is intended to publicize in Šiauliai University publication “Young Scientists Papers“.

iv Abstract The current state of the prolonged low interest rate environment may pose a great threat to the soundness of the financial system both in the eurozone countries as well as in the neighboring regions, such as in countries of Central Europe due to high interconnectedness of markets. Some of the recently identified risks of the low interest rate environment are a notable pickup in mortgage lending and house prices, and deterioration of profitability among banks. We study these channels for the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland, investigating the impact of the imported ECB monetary policy on local (hos countries) during 2004Q4-2019Q4. Our findings suggest that house prices are further driven by low interest rates, and the effect is lagged by two quarters as looser monetary conditions need time to impact our dependant variables. Furthermore, a decrease in the mortgage rate increases mortgage lending in these countries. Lastly, in our study of 27 banks during 2004-2015, we find that ROAA declines by approximately by 17.8 %, given a one percent increase in the 3-month EURIBOR. Keywords low interest rates, EURIBOR, financial soundness, GMM, residential property, mortgages Author's e-mail 71263908@fsv.cuni.cz Supervisor's e-mail Adam.gersl@gmail.com

This thesis provides a thorough analysis of the covered- and uncovered interest parity conditions (CIP, UIP) as well as the forward rate unbiasedness hypothesis (FRUH) for Sweden and the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). By studying data on interbank rates in Sweden (STIBOR) and the EMU (EURIBOR) as well as the corresponding spot- and forward exchange rates, monetary integration and country-specific risks are determined and analyzed with direct applications to the potential entry of Sweden into the EMU. As interest rate parity in general gives insight into market efficiency and frictions between the chosen regions, such points are discussed in addition to EMU entry. Drawing on past studies that mainly studied one condition in isolation, a nested formulation of interest rate parity is instead derived and tested using cointegration and robust estimation methods. The results point to a strict rejection of the FRUH for all horizons except the shortest and a case where CIP only holds for the 6-month horizon and partially over one year. This implies, based on the nested formulation, that UIP is rejected for all horizons as well. Ultimately, the study concludes that a Swedish entry into the EMU is not motivated given the lackluster results on UIP and due to the lack of monetary integration. / Den här uppsatsen presenterar en djupgående analys av det kurssäkrade- och icke-kurssäkrade ränteparitetsvillkoret samt den effektiva marknadshypotesen på valutaterminer för Sverige och den europeiska ekonomiska och monetära unionen (EMU). Genom att studera data på interbankräntor i Sverige (STIBOR) och EMU (EURIBOR) samt respektive spot- och valutaterminskurser så skattas och analyseras monetär integration samt landsspecifika risker med en direkt tillämpning på Sveriges eventuella inträde i EMU. Eftersom ränteparitet generellt ger insikt i marknadseffektivitet och friktioner regioner emellan, diskuteras även dessa punkter utöver ett eventuellt EMU-inträde. Genom att bygga på föregående studier som i huvudsak studerar ränteparitetsvillkoren var för sig, härleds en sekventiell formulering av villkoren som sedan testas med kointegration och robusta estimeringsmetoder. Resultaten ger att den effektiva marknadshypotesen strikt förkastas på alla tidshorisonter förutom på en dag respektive en vecka, samt att kurssäkrad ränteparitet håller på 6 och delvis 12 månaders sikt. Baserat på den sekventiella formuleringen så innebär detta att icke-kurssäkrad ränteparitet inte håller på någon tidshorisont. Slutligen, baserat på både resultat och diskussion, är ett svenskt inträde i EMU inte motiverbart givet negativa resultat för icke-kurssäkrad ränteparitet och avsaknaden av fullständig monetär integration mellan regionerna.

Cette thèse traite de deux nouveaux débats sur le central banking qui ont émergé après la crise financière de 2008: le débat sur les pertes financières aux bilans des banques centrales, et le débat sur le niveau élevé des taux bancaires par rapport aux taux de marché après la crise. Les deux premiers chapitres s’inscrivent dans le premier débat. Le lien entre la solidité financière des banques centrales et l’inflation est étudié empiriquement dans le premier chapitre, en se basant sur un large panel de 82 pays. Théoriquement, ce lien est potentiellement présent lorsque le gouvernement ne soutient pas financièrement la banque centrale et que celle-ci ne peut donc compter que sur elle-même pour améliorer sa situation financière. Les résultats du premier chapitre montrent qu’en pratique tel est effectivement le cas: les détériorations aux bilans des banques centrales s’accompagnent d’une inflation plus forte lorsque la banque centrale n’a pas de soutien fiscal. Les résultats ne montrent pas de lien dans un contexte général, comme la théorie le suggère. Dans le second chapitre, il est analysé et conceptualisé l’argument selon lequel une banque centrale peut mettre fin à un régime de change fixe ou quasi-fixe par peur de futures pertes financières. L’analyse est ensuite appliquée au cas du cours plancher mis en place par la Banque Centrale de Suisse (BNS) entre 2011 et 2015 vis-à-vis de l’euro. Cet argument a été avancé par beaucoup pour expliquer la fin de la politique de cours plancher en Suisse, sans qu’aucune recherche avant celle-ci n’évalue sa pertinence. Les estimations empiriques du Chapitre 2 permettent de montrer que cet argument avait une crédibilité: elles montrent que dans des scénarios crédibles, en cassant le peg avec l’euro 17 mois plus tard, la BNS aurait essuyé une perte considérable, dépassant un seuil perçu comme limite par beaucoup de banquiers centraux. Le dernier chapitre de cette thèse s’intéresse à l’écart entre les taux de dépôts et le taux de marché en zone euro (l’EURIBOR) qui est devenu significativement positif après la crise, conduisant certains à parler de « sur-rémunération » des dépôts. Ce chapitre soutient que la majorité de cet écart ne s’explique non pas par un comportement anormal des dépôts comme certains l’ont avancé, mais au contraire par une perte de pertinence de l’EURIBOR. Construisant une alternative à l’EURIBOR, ce chapitre conclut que le risque bancaire a eu une influence primordiale sur le niveau de rémunération des dépôts dans le monde d’après-crise. / This thesis deals with the new debates on central banking which arose after the 2008 global financial crisis. More particularly, two of such debates are addressed: the debates on the financial losses in central banks’ balance sheets, and the debates on the high level of bank rates compared to market interest rates following the financial crisis. The two first chapters are related to the first debate. The link between central bank financial strength and inflation is empirically examined in a large sample of 82 countries. Theoretically, this link is potentially present when the government does not fiscally support the central bank, so that the central bank can only rely on itself to improve its financial situation. The results show that in practice central bank balance sheet deteriorations indeed lead to higher inflation when fiscal support is absent. The results, based on a particularly meticulous and consistent sample selection, do not show the presence of a link between the two variables in a general context, as the theory suggests. In the second chapter, I analyze and conceptualize the argument according to which a central bank can end a peg exchange rate regime by fear of making significant losses in the future, and I apply this analysis to the Swiss franc peg between 2011 and 2015. This argument was brought forward by many commentators to explain the Swiss move, while no research before this one did study the relevance of this argument. The empirical estimates in Chapter 2 show that this argument indeed had some credibility: under some credible scenarios the Swiss central bank would have incurred significant losses by breaking its peg 17 months later, with losses exceeding a threshold judged as relevant by many central bankers. The last chapter of this thesis focuses on the spread between deposit rates and market interest rates in the Eurozone (more specifically, the EURIBOR), which became significantly positive after the financial crisis, leading some commentators to claim that deposits were over-remunerated. This chapter upholds that the major part of this spread is not due to an « abnormal » behavior of deposits but is rather due to the fact that the EURIBOR has become irrelevant after the global financial crisis. Building an alternative to the EURIBOR, the chapter concludes that banking risks have been having a major influence on the level of deposit remuneration.