Cold time, cool time? Weather-induced moods and financial risk tolerance: Evidence from a real-world banking context

Recent studies in household finance document that weather-induced moods influence financial behaviours. Using a large database from a real-world banking context, we examine the influence of weather-induced moods on the self-assessed financial risk tolerance of more than 60,000 retail clients based on a risk-profiling questionnaire during their visit at a bank. We find that risk tolerance is lower during periods of unpleasant weather. These findings are robust in retail clients who answered the questionnaire twice but under different weather conditions.