Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the relevance of the bank lending channel (BLC) of monetary policy and the bank efficiency in Egypt. Design/methodology/approach This paper examines the effectiveness of bank lending channel using generalized method of moments GMM model during the period from 1996 to 2014. Also, it uses stochastic frontier approach (SFA) to examine the bank efficiency in Egypt. Findings This study supports the relevance of the BLC using panel data. Moreover, applying SFA, this paper computes cost efficiency taking account of both time and country effects directly. The finding suggests that banks with low inflation and high GDP tend to perform more efficiently. Research limitations/implications The limitation of the study is examining one country only. Practical implications The finding signals that the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) should adjust interest rate in order to stabilize the bank loan supply. Social implications It is important for the CBE and Egyptian banks because it highlights the importance of BLC. Originality/value It examines one channel of monetary policy and bank efficiency in Egypt.

This paper examines the relevance of the bank lending channel of monetary policy in Egypt using bank-level data. Previous empirical studies in Egypt that used macro-level data have not supported the relevance of the bank lending channel. However, using a sample of 32 commercial banks for the period from 1998 until 2011 and a dynamic panel GMM technique, the empirical findings revealed the relevance of the bank lending channel of monetary policy in Egypt. Moreover, there is a heterogeneity effect of monetary policy on bank loans according to bank size, in which the small banks are more affected during a monetary contraction than larger banks. This finding signals that the monetary authorities in Egypt should take cognizance of the stability of interest rates in order to stabilize the bank loan supply.Abstrak: Makalah ini membahas relevansi bank penyalur pinjaman kebijakan moneter/bank sentral di Mesir dengan menggunakan data bank bertingkat. Beberapa studi empiris sebelumnya yang menggunakan data tingkat makro belum mendukung relevansi penyaluran pinjaman bank. Namun, dengan menggunakan sampel dari 32 bank umum dari periode 1998 hingga 2011 dan dengan memakai teknik panel GMM dinamis, kami menemukan bukti empiris yang menunjukkan adanya relevansi saluran peminjaman bank kebijakan moneter di Mesir. Selain itu, ada efek heterogenitas kebijakan moneter pinjaman bank sesuai dengan ukuran bank, di mana pada umumnya bank yang kecil lebih terpengaruh selama kontraksi moneter dibandingkan dengan bank yang lebih besar. Temuan ini menunjukan bahwa pihak otoritas moneter di Mesir harus bertanggung jawab atas kestabilan suku bunga agar terjaga kestabilan pasokan pinjaman bank.

Purpose This paper aims to examine the effects of monetary policy and foreign shocks on output, inflation and exchange rate in Egypt. Design/methodology/approach This paper studies the effects of monetary policy and foreign shocks on output, inflation and exchange rate by using non-recursive SVAR model and quarterly data. Findings First, the empirical results reveal that monetary policy shocks, through changes in interest rate or money supply, have a significant effect on output, inflation and exchange rate in Egypt. Second, the world oil prices and foreign output have significant impacts on output, inflation and exchange rate in Egypt, while foreign interest rate has a significant effect on domestic output and inflation. Research limitations/implications The limitation of the study is examining one country only. Practical implications The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) should adjust interest rate to stabilize inflation, output and exchange rate. By stabilizing inflation, output and exchange rate, the CBE would be able to achieve the ultimate targets of monetary policy, namely, price stability and economic growth. Social implications It is important for the CBE because it shows the significant effect of monetary policy on macroeconomic variables in Egypt. Also, it is important for people because it shows the important role for the CBE. Originality/value It is important for the CBE because it examines the effect of monetary policy and foreign shocks on macroeconomic variables.

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Purpose This paper aims to examine the effectiveness of monetary policy on bank loans in Egypt using generalized method of moments (GMM) model. Also, it investigates the impact of bank level variables, namely, total assets, liquidity, capital and income on bank loans. It develops the equation of loans, which is introduced by Ehrmann et al. (2002) using bank level variables such as income and the interaction between income and interest rate. Design/methodology/approach This paper examines the impact of monetary policy shocks on bank loans in Egypt by applying the GMM technique and panel data from 1996 to 2014. Findings The results reveal that real interest rate has a significant impact on bank loans, which indicates that the bank lending channel is effective in Egypt. Furthermore, the bank level variables, namely, banks’ size, liquidity and income have significant effects on bank loans in Egypt, which sustains the heterogeneous effect of monetary policy on bank loans. Therefore, the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) can adjust interest rate to influence the bank loans and total demand. Research limitations/implications It does not examine the effect of monetary policy on small and large banks in Egypt. Practical implications The policy implications from this paper indicate that the monetary authority in Egypt should adjust interest rate to stabilize the bank loan supply. By stabilizing the bank loans, the monetary authority is able to stabilize investment, consumption and total demand. Social implications The relevance of bank lending channel indicates that the role of commercial banks is very important in transmitting monetary policy shocks to the real sector. Originality/value It is important for the CBE, banks and people because it shows the effectiveness of bank lending channel and the effect of global financial crisis on the Egyptian economy.