The Countercyclical Capital Buffer and International Bank Lending: Evidence from Canada

Abstract: We examine the impact of the recently introduced Basel III countercyclical capital buffer (CCyB) on foreign lending activities of Canadian banks. By exploiting the variation in CCyB rates across countries, we overcome the identification challenge associated with limited time-series evidence on the CCyB's use in individual jurisdictions. We show that in response to a 1-percentage-point tightening announcement in a foreign CCyB, the growth rate of cross-border lending between Canadian banks and borrowers abroad decreases by 12-17 percentage points. The direction of this effect is likely driven by the CCyB's unique reciprocity rule, which also subjects foreign banks to domestic regulation.