Consumption Effects of Mortgage Payment Holidays : Evidence during the COVID-19 Pandemic /

We use UK transaction-level data during the Covid-19 pandemic to study whether mortgage payment holidays (PH) can act as a mechanism for smoothing household consumption following negative aggregate shocks. Our results suggest that mortgage PH were accessed by both households with pre-existing financ...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Albuquerque, Bruno
Other Authors: Varadi, Alexandra
Format: Journal
Language:English
Published: Washington, D.C. : International Monetary Fund, 2022.
Series:IMF Working Papers; Working Paper ; No. 2022/044
Subjects:
Online Access:Full text available on IMF
Description
Summary:We use UK transaction-level data during the Covid-19 pandemic to study whether mortgage payment holidays (PH) can act as a mechanism for smoothing household consumption following negative aggregate shocks. Our results suggest that mortgage PH were accessed by both households with pre-existing financial vulnerabilities and by those with stronger balance sheets, including buy-to-let investors. We also find that the temporary liquidity relief provided by PH allowed liquidity-constrained households to maintain higher annual consumption growth compared to those non-eligible for the policy. Finally, we find that mortgage PH led to higher saving rates for more financially-stable households.
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Physical Description:1 online resource (58 pages)
Format:Mode of access: Internet
ISSN:1018-5941
Access:Electronic access restricted to authorized BRAC University faculty, staff and students