【经管院每周系列讲座第329期】Risk Taking, Reaching for Yield, and Monetary Policy: Evidence from Peer-to-Peer Lending
Title:Risk Taking, Reaching for Yield, and Monetary Policy: Evidence from Peer-to-Peer Lending
Speaker:Xiaoying Deng, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics
Host:Han Li, professor, SWUFE
Time:14:00-15:30, November 24, 2017
Venue:H503, Yide building, Liulin Campus
Abstract：This paper examines whether and how monetary policy affects risk taking and reaching for yield behavior by individual investors in the peer-to-peer lending market. The setting and data of the peer-to-peer lending market enable a cleaner identification by controlling the demand side factors. Using the data of Prosper.com from 2005 to 2013, we show that easy monetary policy induces investors in the peer-to-peer lending market to fund riskier loans and to fund loans with higher expected returns. The transmission of quantitative easing programs to real economy depends crucially on borrower characteristics. By employing a two-stage model that analyzes both loan applications and outcomes, we further document that a lower interest rate induces more loan grants to ex ante risky borrowers, with a higher likelihood of default ex post. This relationship is more pronounced during periods of financial distress.
