Publication

This paper analyzes the Italian interbank loan market from 1999 until 2010. The analysis of net trade flows shows a high imbalance caused by few large net borrowers in the market. The trading volume shows a significant drop starting in 2007, which accelerates with the Lehman default in late 2008. The analysis of bilateral loan relationships reveals that in the pre-crisis era large net borrowers used to borrow at a slight discount. In the post-Lehman era borrowers with large net exposures paid more than the average market rate, which shows that the risk evaluation of market participants has changed considerably.