Bank Liquidity, Interbank Markets, and Monetary Policy

A major lesson of the recent financial crisis is that the ability of banks to withstand liquidity shocks and to provide lending to one another is crucial for financial stability. This paper studies the functioning of the interbank lending market and the optimal policy of a central bank in response to both idiosyncratic and aggregate shocks. In particular, we consider how the interbank market affects a bank's choice between holding liquid assets ex ante and acquiring such assets in the market ex post. We show that a central bank should use different tools to manage different types of shocks. Specifically, it should respond to idiosyncratic shocks by lowering the interest rate in the interbank market and address aggregate shocks by injecting liquid assets into the banking system. We also show that failure to adopt the optimal policy can lead to financial fragility.