International Journal of Financial Studies Article Does Monetary Policy Influence the Profitability of Banks in New Zealand? Vijay Kumar 1, Sanjeev Acharya 2,* and Ly T. H. Ho 3,4 1 New Zealand Institute for Business Research, The University of Waikato, Hamilton 3216, New Zealand;
[email protected] 2 School of Business and Management, Southern Institute of Technology, Invercargill 9810, New Zealand 3 Faculty of Banking, University of Economics, The University of Danang, Da Nang 550000, Viet Nam;
[email protected] 4 School of Accounting, Finance and Economics, The University of Waikato, Hamilton 3216, New Zealand * Correspondence:
[email protected] Received: 4 April 2020; Accepted: 29 May 2020; Published: 9 June 2020 Abstract: The study investigates the relationship between monetary policy and bank profitability in New Zealand using the generalized method of moments (GMM) estimator. Our sample comprises 19 banks from New Zealand over the period 2006–2018. Our results suggest that an increase in short-term rate leads to an increase in the profitability of banks, while an increase in long-term interest rates reduces bank profitability. In addition to monetary policy variables, capital adequacy ratio, non-performing loan ratio, and cost to income ratio are also important determinants of the profitability of banks in New Zealand. Capital adequacy ratio has a positive impact on bank profitability, while non-performing loan ratio and cost to income ratio have a negative impact on bank profitability. Keywords: monetary policy; short-term interest rates; long-term interest rates; bank size JEL Classification: G21; G28; E58 1. Introduction In order to stimulate economic growth and achieve the desired level of inflation, central banks in many countries rely on monetary policy tools.