Real Effects of Exchange Rate Depreciation: The Roles of Bank Loan Supply and Interbank Markets

Abstract Using matched bank–firm‐level data and estimating difference‐in‐differences regressions around the 2014 depreciation of the euro, we show that exchange rate depreciations can lead to higher loan supply by raising banks' net worth. We focus on a new channel, interbank lending from large banks with high net dollar exposure to small banks without foreign‐currency asset exposure, but with a high share of exporting firms in their portfolio. We also find that German regions with such small banks experience higher output growth following the depreciation. These findings show the importance of banks' balance sheet structure and interbank markets in transmitting exchange rate shocks to the real economy.