The role of market discipline and macroprudential policies in achieving bank stability

Abstract

This study examines whether forcing banks to hold subordinated debt and enforcing market discipline could enhance the effectiveness of capital macroprudential policies in reducing banks' risk and contribute to bank stability. Using the system generalised method of moments and based on a sample of 322 banks across 18 countries during the period 2006–2020, we find that a higher level of subordinated debt leads banks to avoid moral‐hazard behaviours and engage in risk shifting when adapting to a tighter macroprudential framework, which in turn leads to a greater effectiveness of these policies. Furthermore, as robustness tests, we show that this effect is stronger in advanced economies and in the United States of America. These results also stand using a different proxy for banks' risk.