In the euro area interest rates have dropped low for almost a decade now and it is anticipated to endure in the years to come. This creates challenges for banks performance, therefore this paper observes whether interest rates effect bank profitability. Further investigating whether loan growth should be an important factor to also consider in the model. We use data for 72 banks from various countries in the Eurozone for the period 2006-2016 and conduct a panel data analysis on this data. Results show that loan growth is not significant and is not a vital component to be included in the model. We find a negative significant relationship between the spread which compromises of long-term deposit rates minus the interest rate controlled by the European Central Bank. This suggests that, a decrease in interest rates can and had eroded bank profitability in the euro area.

The thesis examines the relation of the low-interest rate environment to the banks' selected credit risk measures with a panel dataset on banks in Eurozone, Denmark, Japan, Sweden, and Switzerland covering the period 2011-2017. It employs a system GMM framework and a combination of bank-related and macroeconomic variables. This study builds on recent literature on effects of low-interest rates on banks' profitability and estimates the following three hypotheses: The potential effects of the low-interest rate on non-performing loans (NPL) ratio, risk-weighted assets (RWA) to total assets ratio, and changes in Tier 1 capital ratio. There are three main results: Firstly, the results suggest that a prolonged period of negative monetary interest rate can affect the NPL ratio and reveal a possible relationship between the 3M-interbank interest rate and NPL ratio. Thus, the thesis does not reject the first hypotheses. However, it rejects these hypotheses in case of the other two ratios. Secondly, the study finds a bank heterogeneity to be a significant determinant of the credit risk. Finally, using recent data, this thesis contributes to the literature focusing on the drivers of the NPL ratio, RWA to total assets ratio and Tier 1 capital ratio, where in case of the latter two the existing research is...

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