Credit Supply or Demand? The Changing Role of Structural Market Forces in Bank Lending

Recent crises have shown that disruptions in credit markets can have serious macroeconomic consequences. This paper aims to assess the structural drivers of the bank lending market to non-financial corporations using the structural VAR methodology in a small, open, and bank-based euro area economy - Slovakia. The results show that credit demand shocks (loans demanded by firms) are at least as important as credit supply shocks (loans supplied by banks) in the lending market, and that this importance changes over the cycle. These findings have important policy implications, as responding to these shocks may require different policy measures.