Debt limits and monetary policy during the euro area crisis

Abstract

We study the debt limits of non-financial firms, and the influence of monetary policy via this channel during the global financial crisis in the euro area. The estimations indicate that monetary policy was initially effective in fending of a fall in the debt limits. After the monetary policy channel peaked in the vicinity of the zero-lower bound, however, the debt limits of non-financial firms contracted by almost a fifth. The tightening of the debt limits directly influenced firms that hold almost a tenth of corporate assets. The estimations furthermore provide evidence of structural shifts in credit use that contributed to the sluggish economic dynamism during the crisis period.