TY  - JOUR
AU  - Sofianos,George
AU  - Melnik,Arie
AU  - Wachtel,Paul
TI  - Loan Commitments and Monetary Policy
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 2232
PY  - 1991
Y2  - February 1991
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w2232
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w2232.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
George Sofianos
Equity Product Strategies
Goldman, Sachs & Co.
One New York Plaza, 49th Floor
New York, NY 10004
Tel: 212-902 9572
Fax: 212 428 3962
E-Mail: george.sofianos@gs.com

Paul Wachtel
Stern School of Business
New York University
44 West 4th Street (769)
New York, NY 10012
Tel: 212-998-4030
E-Mail: pwachtel@stern.nyu.edu
AB  - The impact of loan commitment agreements on the way in which changes in monetary policy affects the economy is examined. In particular, the empirical relevance of quantity credit rationing in the transmission of monetary policy is studied with VAR models. We find evidence of a differential impact of monetary policy on loans under commitment and not under commitment. Our conclusion is that credit rationing for bank loans does occur, although loan commitments effectively protect borrowers from credit rationing. Thus, loan commitments which insulate borrowers from the effects of quantity rationing force monetary policy to work exclusively through interest rate channels.
ER  -