Author: Martin Karlsson & Sebastian Dahlén, students at Karlstad Business School. Keywords: Bank, repo rate, changes, variable mortgage rate, margins, relationship, competition. Problem formulation: How do banks differ in behavior for increases and decreases of the repo rate. Purpose: The paper aims to examine how banks differ in their response to a decrease and increase in the repo rate. Two periods between 2002-2006 and 2010-2014 were studied to compare the competition on the bank market historically. Background: This segment gives a basic understanding on the bank market, interest rates and loans. Method: The study is a quantitative study of data for the floating mortgage rate over two time periods using regressions models. Articles, literature and reports form the basis of the theory segment. Theory: The paper gives a theoretical understanding on how pricing works on the banking market focusing on oligopoly theory. Empirical data: The data sample is based on secondary data retrieved from the banks’ official web sites. Analysis: The results are analyzed in a separate segment to give a better overview. iv Conclusion: The results show a correlation between the banks mortgage rate and the repo rate. The banks responses to decrease and increases of the repo rate differed for the years 2002-2006 and 2010-2014. For the first period banks were keener on decreasing their mortgage rates than increasing. The opposite relationship was found in the second period.

This study is among the first to provide insight into the assessment of the Swedish central bank’s (Riksbank) three unconventional monetary policies (UMPs) and their influence on Swedish commercial banks. The three UMPs include forward guidance (FG), quantitative easing (QE) and negative interest rate policy (repo rate). Riksbank introduced the UMPs in order to revive inflation and support Sweden’s economic recovery. The banks’ ability to certainly forecast their operations is highly dependent on the communication availed by the Riksbank on its expected future monetary policies through FG. QE is paramount because this is when commercial banks sell government bonds to the Riksbank. Repo rate determines interest rates set by banks. Four indicators (uncertainty, government bond yields, bank interest rates, borrowing and lending) were used in this study to investigate the perception of the commercial banks on the three UMPs. There are limited studies on Swedish banks’ perception of the UMPs which leaves a research gap in this area.Previous studies indicate that dominant banks in terms of asset shares and deposits are more sensitive to monetary policy shocks. The four dominant commercial banks studied include: Nordea, Handelsbanken, Swedbank and Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken. This thesis considers the evidence of the results from previous empirical studies. Empirical material for this study was collected through semi-structured interviews from respondents by the Riksbank and the four commercial banks. A deductive approach was used to interpret the information collected.Our results presents various perceptions of the dominant commercial banks on the three UMPs in relation to the four indicators. Some commercial banks perceived the increased transparency and clarity during the increased FG to have reduced their uncertainty. Other banks perceived that FG had increased their uncertainty. They questioned the credibility of the FG since they could not predict Riksbank’s monetary policies with the FG availed. In regards to the perception of QE on uncertainty, an increased signalling channel during QE implementation had resulted in a decline of their uncertainty since they were experiencing a surplus of liquidity in the banking sector. However, they stated other factors that increased market volatility during QE. The increased market volatility during QE increased their uncertainty. The four commercial banks agreed that the demand for government bonds increased while the yields of the government bonds declined. They perceived these changes to have been influenced by QE. The commercial banks’ lending, deposit and interbank interest rates have declined systematically correlating the trend of the declining repo rate. The four banks experienced a decline in their average net interest income, an improved flow of credit through higher lending volumes and stable lending margins to households and firms. Commercial banks perceived these changes to have resulted from the declining market interest rates because of the negative repo rate.Riksbank can use this study to assess the effectiveness of its UMPs on commercial banks based on the perception of the employees from these respective banks. This study discusses implications of the findings for commercial banks and the Riksbank, as well as academics in the realm of implementations and influences of UMPs.

Price trends on the Swedish housing market has risen sharply in recent decades and is at the moment up to the highest price level ever. The sharp price movements have opened up for discussion about a possible housing bubble. To prevent this the Riksbank can change the repo rate, which in turn aects the lenders' lending rates. Finansinspektionen introduced in autumn 2010, a mortgage cap which means that the house will be mortgaged to a maximum of 85 percent of its market value. The purpose of this was to cool the housing market and prevent the unsustainable development of household debt. The purpose of this study is to examine in particular the repo rates and the mortgage caps eect on house prices in Sweden. Although other variables that aect supply and demand in the housing market from a macroeconomic perspective will be included in the model, such as GDP, unemployment and the nancial crisis of 2008. This study has been done by using a quantitative analysis, consisting of time series analysis. The results conrm all the investigated variables expected impact on house prices. As for the repo rate and the mortgage cap the results showed that these have a negative eect on house prices in Sweden. / Prisutvecklingen pa den Svenska bostadsmarknaden har stigit kraftigt under de senaste decennierna och ar just nu uppe i den hogsta prisnivan nagonsin. Den kraftiga prisutvecklingen har oppnat for diskussion om en eventuell bostadsbubbla. For att motverka detta kan Riksbanken andra reporantan som i sin tur paverkar kreditgivarnas utlaningsranta. Finansinspektionen inforde under hosten 2010 ett bolanetak som innebar att bostaden hogst ska belanas till 85 procent av marknadsvardet. Detta for att kyla bostadsmarknaden och motverka den ohallbara utvecklingen av hushallens skuldsattning. Syftet med denna studie ar att framforallt undersoka reporantans och bolanetakets eekt pa smahuspriser i Sverige. Aven andra variabler som paverkar utbudet och efterfragan pa bostadsmarknaden ur ett makroekonomiskt perspektiv kommer att inga i modellen, till exempel BNP, arbetsloshet och nanskrisen 2008. Detta genomfors med hjalp av en kvantitativ analys, bestaende av tidsserieanalys. Resultatet bekraftar alla undersokta variablers vantade eekter pa smahuspriser. Vad galler reporantan och bolanetaket sa visade resultatet pa att dessa har negativ eekt pa smahuspriser i Sverige.

Uppsatsens syfte är att fastställa hur reporäntebeslut påverkar fastighetsaktiemarknaden. Vi har undersökt 67 tidsintervall på tio dagar där annonseringen av reporäntebesluten utgör mittpunktenerna och har följaktligen läst av reporäntans kortsiktiga effekt på fastighetsaktier. Målet är att kunna ge en förklaring till marknadens reaktioner och att bilda en hypotes kring frågeställningen. Vi har genomfört en eventstudie där vi delvis replikerat tidigare studier som redogjort för styrräntans effekt på aktiemarknaden. Vidare har vi utgått från ett kvantitativt perspektiv. Respondenterna har representerats av fondförvaltare med goda kunskaper om fastighetsaktier. All empiri grundar sig på sekundärdata och material från gjorda intervjuer. Sammanställningen av våra resultat visade ett negativt samband mellan reporäntan och fastighetsaktier när en förändring av reporäntan ägde rum. Den kortsiktiga påverkan kan således härledas till vad flera studier tidigare redogjort för. Resultatet argumenterar för en ineffektiv marknad med hjälp av effekten på en förändrad styrränta, men motsätter sig samtidigt den slutsatsen i och med den effekt som förekom vid beslut om oförändrad reporänta. Bakomliggande faktorer till resultatet har inte kunnat fastställas men vi har bland annat redogjort för ett förändrat avkastningskrav hos investerarna samt en förändrad räntekostnad hos fastighetsbolagen, till följd av en reporänteförändring. / The purpose of the study was to establish how the repo rate influences the real estate stock market. We have reviewed a time interval of ten days where the middle point is defined by the time of a decision. Consequently, we have reported the short-term effect on shares in the real estate business. Our goal was to be able to present an explanation to the reactions of the market and to form a theory surrounding the initial problem. We have implemented an event study where we partially have been replicating previous studies reported on the effect of the repo rate on the stock market. Furthermore, we have started from a quantitative perspective. The respondents have been represented by fund managers favoured with great knowledge in real estate. All the empirics are based on secondary data and material from the performed interviews. The compilation of our results showed a negative relationship between the repo rate and the stocks in real estate once a change in the repo rate took place. We were able to deduce our results about short term influence to previous reports. The results do not add up with the efficient market hypothesis when a change has taken place in the repo rate. Though, the effect of an unchanged repo rate suggests there is an efficient market. We have not been able to determine the elements behind the effects, although we have thoroughly reviewed elements such as a change in investor’s required rate of return as well as a change in the interest expenses, due to a change in the repo rate.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine how changes in long and short interest rates as well as in the slope of the yield curve affect the stock returns of the four major Swedish banks; Svenska Handelsbanken, Nordea Bank, Swedbank, and Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken. Further, the aim of the research is to compare these findings to how the banks perceive that such changes affect their stock returns. The objective is thereof to detect differences and similarities between regressions and interviews, in order to contribute with insights to how the banks can handle their exposure to interest rate risk. Theoretical Framework: Previous research show that banks’ stock returns are affected by many factors, including cash flow news, interest rates, size of the business, and the macroeconomy as a whole. However, banks’ interest rate margins are set to market rates so these are more exposed to and affected by changes in interest rates, especially short ones, than are non-financial institutions. Furthermore, the low interest rate levels and forecasting errors that have been seen lately have contributed to greater uncertainty and higher risk exposures, making banks’ sensitivity increase. Methodology: A mixture of a qualitative and a quantitative methodology is used, where the former consists of interviewing the banks and the latter of regressions through secondary data from Thomson Reuters Eikon and the Riksbank. Conclusion: The major Swedish banks’ stock returns are generally affected by changes in short interest rates but not by changes in long interest rates, with the exception of Handelsbanken being impervious to all such changes. Swedbank’s stock returns are most sensitive than the other banks’ stock returns and it is the only bank affected by changes in the yield curve slope. However, the banks seem to perceive no crucial difference in how their stock returns are affected by changes in short interest rates and long interest rates, concluding that their perceptions of long interest rates are not as in line with our results as are their perceptions of short interest rates. However, it tends to be a more diffuse relationship between changes in long interest rates and stock returns than between changes in short interest rates and stock returns.

This study investigates the effect of monetary policy, focusing on repo rate and the expansion of QE programs, on Mergers and Acquisitions activity in publicly listed companies on the Swedish Stock Exchange. The study also investigates whether there are significant relationships between companies’ acquisition activity, their solvency or liquidity ratios. Additionally, the observed firms are categorized into industries to enable examination of differences between industries. The thesis aims at expanding the knowledge of determinant factors in explaining M&A activity on the Swedish market. To adequately determine the influencing factors on activity, 27 years of data was collected on acquiring Swedish firms from the Eikon database. In addition, data for the calculations of solvency and liquidity ratios were gathered from the same database. Data for the monetary policy variables were gathered from the Swedish Central Bank. A deductive quantitative method was used to analyze the various relationships between the studied variables. The study concluded significant correlation between monetary policy and M&A activity, company solvency and M&A activity as well as corporate liquidity and M&A activity. The correlation was negative in all cases except for quantitative easing which opens up for an interesting discussion. Observed industries gave a mixed result in terms of significant relationships but the result also indicate that pro-cyclical industries tend to be more affected by monetary policy than non-cyclicals. All of the above-mentioned relationships are further discussed from the perspective of various theories that both agree and disagree with the findings of this study. The authors believe that these results will give stakeholders a more in-depth knowledge and understanding of M&A activity and M&As in general. This study contributes knowledge to enable more sustainable business administration and management of companies.

This diploma thesis focuses on the use of inflation targeting as monetary policy regime in a situation of imminent deflation. The thesis is divided into three main parts. The first part introduces the basic mechanism of inflation targeting with its basic elements and describes its possible failure. The second part focuses mainly on the analysis of the economic factors which contributed to achieving the zero lower bound for the repo rate of CNB. The third part presents an alternative (unconventional) monetary policy instruments in case of achieving zero lower bound, in particular the use of the exchange rate. The end of the last part of this thesis analyzes the development of key macroeconomic indicators in the Czech Republic.

我國公債期貨市場發展至今，市場流動性未能有效提振，本文將針對此問題嘗試從市場結構、實務狀況、相關學理等各方面，探討諸多可能的影響因素，並加以分析研究，找出問題的癥結以提供解決之道。此外，本文亦從問券調查的結果中，歸納出市場參予者對現行公債期貨的看法，希冀能作為台灣期貨交易所未來商品規劃之參考。 / Since the Taiwan government bond futures trade, the market is lack of liquidity during the year. For the problem, this paper considers the layers of market structure, trading convention and relative theories, try to analysis the causes of less liquidity and resolve the liquidity problem. On the other hand, by making the survey this paper sums up the opinions from the participants of the bond futures market. This paper, which could help the Taiwan Futures Exchange in designing other interest rate derivatives, will wish to give some useful reference.