Drivers of depositor discipline in credit unions

In this paper, we analyze whether credit unions are subject to market discipline by their (member) depositors and examine the drivers of such discipline. We first provide descriptive evidence of depositor discipline in credit unions: shares and deposits as well as savings interest rates react to var...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Gómez-Biscarri, J. (Javier)|||/items/21dc480d-7ce8-4abf-8903-a3906f11d09d, López-Espinosa, G. (Germán)|||/items/daa462a7-7599-4041-b1eb-7ce7dcd71be6, Mesa-Toro, A. (Andrés)|||/items/139c8954-5b4b-45f5-92cc-3831750a274e
Format: article
Publication Date:2021
Country:España
Institution:Universidad de Navarra
Repository:Dadun. Depósito Académico Digital de la Universidad de Navarra
Language:English
OAI Identifier:oai:dadun.unav.edu:10171/64777
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10171/64777
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Bank–client relationship
Credit unions
Depositor discipline
Financial literacy
Description
Summary:In this paper, we analyze whether credit unions are subject to market discipline by their (member) depositors and examine the drivers of such discipline. We first provide descriptive evidence of depositor discipline in credit unions: shares and deposits as well as savings interest rates react to variables that reflect the financial health of the credit union and its asset risk. We show that this discipline is long-lasting and that it is mediated by the existence of a deposit guarantee scheme and by the strength of the relationship of members with the credit union. We then use proxies of the capability of members to process financial information to show that discipline is heavily influenced by member financial sophistication. Our results suggest that a type of market-based discipline acts as a complement for regulation in controlling credit union risk taking, thus contributing to overall financial stability.