Lorenzo Burlon

Monetary Policy

Division: Monetary Analysis
Current Position: Lead Economist
Fields of interest: Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics,Financial Economics
Email: Lorenzo.Burlon@ecb.europa.eu

Biography

Education: 2008-2011
PhD, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; 2007-2008
MA (Erasmus Mundus), Université de Paris I "Panthéon - Sorbonne" and Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Paris and Barcelona, France and Spain; 2006-2007
Diplôme Universitaire, Université de Paris I "Panthéon - Sorbonne", Paris, France
Professional experience: 2020-
Senior Economist - Monetary Analysis Division, Directorate General Monetary Policy, European Central Bank; 2019
Economist - Monetary Analysis Division, Directorate General Monetary Policy, European Central Bank; 2018-2019
Economist (ESCB/IO) - Monetary Analysis Division, Directorate General Monetary Policy, European Central Bank; 2013-2018
Economist - Modelling and Forecasting Division, Directorate General Economics, Statistics and Research, Banca d'Italia (on leave); 2016
Secondee (EWE) - Monetary Policy Strategy Division, Directorate General Economics, European Central Bank; 2012-2013
Research Fellow, Directorate General Economics, Statistics and Research, Banca d'Italia, Rome, Italy; 2012
Temporary lecturer - Ljubljana Summer School, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia; 2011-2012
Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Barcelona, Spain
Awards: 2010
Louis-André Gérard-Varet Prize (best paper by a young economist) at the Annual Meeting of ASSET; 2010
Urrutia Elejalde Foundation Award for Excellence in Doctoral Studies; 2010
Best Paper Award at the III Doctoral Meeting of Montpellier
Teaching experience: 2012
Lecturer (Undergraduate: Macroeconomics I), University of Ljubljana, Slovenia; 2011-2012
Lecturer (Graduate: Macroeconomics I; Undergraduate: Macroeconomics), University of Barcelona, Spain; 2008-2011
Teaching Assistant (Undergraduate: Econometrics, Advanced Macroeconomics, Introduction to Economics, Macroeconomics I, Macroeconomics II, Optimization, Macroeconomic Theory), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain

ECB publications

20 September 2021

ECONOMIC BULLETIN - ARTICLE

TLTRO III and bank lending conditions

Economic Bulletin Issue 6, 2021

English

Abstract: The third series of targeted longer-term refinancing operations (TLTRO III) enabled one of the largest liquidity injections by the European Central Bank (ECB). This article provides an assessment of the effectiveness of the operations in supporting bank lending conditions. It discusses the main transmission channels of TLTRO III, including in relation to other policy measures. This article also includes a box on the importance of collateral easing measures, a box on the impact of TLTRO III on money market rates, and a box on the consequences of high participation in TLTRO III for excess liquidity levels. The article then documents, based on hard data on banks’ balance sheets and soft information from bank surveys, the extent to which TLTRO III has eased bank lending conditions, thereby helping to support access to credit for households and firms during the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis.
JEL Code: E51 : Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics→Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit→Money Supply, Credit, Money Multipliers
E52 : Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics→Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit→Monetary Policy
E58 : Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics→Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit→Central Banks and Their Policies
G01 : Financial Economics→General→Financial Crises
G21 : Financial Economics→Financial Institutions and Services→Banks, Depository Institutions, Micro Finance Institutions, Mortgages

9 October 2020

WORKING PAPER SERIES - No. 2480

The (unobservable) value of central bank’s refinancing operations

English

Abstract: We quantify the impact that central bank refinancing operations and funding facilities had at reducing the banking sector’s intrinsic fragility in the euro area in 2014-2019. We do so by constructing, estimating and calibrating a micro-structural model of imperfect competition in the banking sector that allows for runs in the form of multiple equilibria, in the spirit of Diamond & Dybvig (1983), banks’ default and contagion, and central bank funding. Our framework incorporates demand and supply for insured and uninsured deposits, and for loans to firms and households, as well as borrowers’ default. The estimation and the calibration are based on confidential granular data for the euro area banking sector, including information on the amount of deposits covered by the deposit guarantee scheme and the borrowing from the European Central Bank (ECB). We document that the quantitative relevance of non-fundamental risk is potentially large in the euro area banking sector, as witnessed by the presence of alternative equilibria with run-type features, but also that central bank interventions exerted a crucial role in containing fundamental as well as non-fundamental risk. Our counterfactuals show that 1 percentage point reduction (increase) in the ECB lending rate of its refinancing operations reduces (increases) the median of banks’ default risk across equilibria by around 50%, with substantial heterogeneity of this pass-through across time, banks and countries.
JEL Code: E44 : Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics→Money and Interest Rates→Financial Markets and the Macroeconomy
E52 : Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics→Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit→Monetary Policy
E58 : Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics→Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit→Central Banks and Their Policies
G01 : Financial Economics→General→Financial Crises
G21 : Financial Economics→Financial Institutions and Services→Banks, Depository Institutions, Micro Finance Institutions, Mortgages
L13 : Industrial Organization→Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance→Oligopoly and Other Imperfect Markets
Network: Research Task Force (RTF)

11 September 2020

WORKING PAPER SERIES - No. 2465

The great lockdown: pandemic response policies and bank lending conditions

English

Abstract: This study analyses the policy measures taken in the euro area in response to the outbreak and the escalating diffusion of new coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. We focus on monetary, microprudential and macroprudential policies designed specifically to support bank lending conditions. For identification, we use proprietary data on participation in central bank liquidity operations, high-frequency reactions to monetary policy announcements, and confidential supervisory information on bank capital requirements. The results show that in the absence of the funding cost relief and capital relief associated with the pandemic response measures, banks’ ability to supply credit would have been severely affected. The results also indicate that the coordinated intervention by monetary and prudential authorities amplified the effects of the individual measures in supporting liquidity conditions and helping to sustain the flow of credit to the private sector. Finally, we investigate the potential real effects of the joint pandemic response measures by estimating the adjustment in labour input variables for firms that in the past have been more exposed to similar policies. We find that, in absence of monetary and prudential policies, the pandemic would lead to a significantly larger decline in firms’ employment.
JEL Code: E51 : Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics→Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit→Money Supply, Credit, Money Multipliers
E52 : Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics→Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit→Monetary Policy
E58 : Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics→Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit→Central Banks and Their Policies
G01 : Financial Economics→General→Financial Crises
G21 : Financial Economics→Financial Institutions and Services→Banks, Depository Institutions, Micro Finance Institutions, Mortgages
G28 : Financial Economics→Financial Institutions and Services→Government Policy and Regulation

13 May 2020

ECONOMIC BULLETIN - ARTICLE

Negative rates and the transmission of monetary policy

Economic Bulletin Issue 3, 2020

English

Abstract: This article explains how negative rates are transmitted via banks and financial markets, both via standard transmission channels and via channels specific to negative interest rates. The latter can enhance the stimulus, but may also hinder it, in particular in the case of protracted periods of negative rates. Euro area bank profitability has been persistently low since the financial crisis, and this has the potential to impair bank lending. At the same time, profits have increased since 2014 and the impact of negative interest rates is assessed as broadly neutral so far, as the negative contribution to net interest income has been offset by the positive impact on borrower creditworthiness. Finally, the article reports empirical evidence – drawn from a range of studies – on how negative rates affect the broader economy, starting with bank portfolio allocation decisions, lending volumes and lending rates. The article then elaborates on the impact of the negative rate policy on key macroeconomic aggregates, notably economic activity and inflation.
JEL Code: E42 : Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics→Money and Interest Rates→Monetary Systems, Standards, Regimes, Government and the Monetary System, Payment Systems
E52 : Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics→Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit→Monetary Policy
G21 : Financial Economics→Financial Institutions and Services→Banks, Depository Institutions, Micro Finance Institutions, Mortgages

27 December 2019

ECONOMIC BULLETIN - ARTICLE

What does the bank lending survey tell us about credit conditions for euro area firms?

Economic Bulletin Issue 8, 2019

English

Abstract: This article examines bank lending conditions for euro area non-financial corporations (NFCs), making use of the wealth of soft information available in the euro area bank lending survey (BLS) since its inception in 2003. One relevant question in this context is whether the tightening of the bank loan supply during the financial and sovereign debt crises has been offset by the easing of bank lending conditions for NFC loans since 2014. The article illustrates that the easing over this period has come mainly through a substantial loosening of the actual terms and conditions applied by banks to new loans to firms of average credit quality, while the credit standards that banks have established for their loan approval decisions have eased by less. The article also draws on the responses of individual banks to examine the differences in bank lending conditions for NFC loans across bank business models. This analysis reveals that the change in credit conditions of banks with business models more reliant on stable funding sources, such as deposits, is more muted. In short, it looks at additional aspects that enhance the regular assessment of bank lending conditions faced by firms based on the euro area BLS.
JEL Code: E4 : Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics→Money and Interest Rates
E44 : Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics→Money and Interest Rates→Financial Markets and the Macroeconomy
E5 : Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics→Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit
E52 : Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics→Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit→Monetary Policy
G21 : Financial Economics→Financial Institutions and Services→Banks, Depository Institutions, Micro Finance Institutions, Mortgages

7 June 2019

WORKING PAPER SERIES - No. 2289

Is there a zero lower bound? The effects of negative policy rates on banks and firms

English

Abstract: Exploiting confidential data from the euro area, we show that sound banks pass on negative rates to their corporate depositors without experiencing a contraction in funding and that the degree of pass-through becomes stronger as policy rates move deeper into negative territory. The negative interest rate policy provides stimulus to the economy through firms’ asset rebalancing. Firms with high cash-holdings linked to banks charging negative rates increase their investment and decrease their cash-holdings to avoid the costs associated with negative rates. Overall, our results challenge the common view that conventional monetary policy becomes ineffective at the zero lower bound.
JEL Code: E52 : Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics→Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit→Monetary Policy
E43 : Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics→Money and Interest Rates→Interest Rates: Determination, Term Structure, and Effects
G21 : Financial Economics→Financial Institutions and Services→Banks, Depository Institutions, Micro Finance Institutions, Mortgages
D22 : Microeconomics→Production and Organizations→Firm Behavior: Empirical Analysis
D25 : Microeconomics→Production and Organizations
Network: Research Task Force (RTF)

9 January 2018

OCCASIONAL PAPER SERIES - No. 205

Real and financial cycles in EU countries - Stylised facts and modelling implications

English

Abstract: This paper studies the cyclical properties of real GDP, house prices, credit, and nominal liquid financial assets in 17 EU countries, by applying several methods to extract cycles. The estimates confirm earlier findings of large medium-term cycles in credit volumes and house prices. GDP appears to be subject to fluctuations at both business-cycle and medium-term frequencies, and GDP fluctuations at medium-term frequencies are strongly correlated with cycles in credit and house prices. Cycles in equity prices and long-term interest rates are considerably shorter than those in credit and house prices and have little in common with the latter. Credit and house price cycles are weakly synchronous across countries and their volatilities vary widely – these differences may be related to the structural properties of housing and mortgage markets. Finally, DSGE models can replicate the volatility of cycles in house and equity prices, but not the persistence of house price cycles.
JEL Code: C32 : Mathematical and Quantitative Methods→Multiple or Simultaneous Equation Models, Multiple Variables→Time-Series Models, Dynamic Quantile Regressions, Dynamic Treatment Effect Models, Diffusion Processes
E32 : Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics→Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles→Business Fluctuations, Cycles
E44 : Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics→Money and Interest Rates→Financial Markets and the Macroeconomy

External publications

2021

Journal of Financial Economics

Is there a zero lower bound? The effects of negative policy rates on banks and firms