When central banks adjust interest rates, the opportunity cost of lending in local currency changes, but—absent frictions—there is no spillover effect to lending in other currencies. However, when equity capital is limited, global banks must benchmark domestic and foreign lending opportunities. We show that, in equilibrium, the marginal return on foreign lending is affected by the interest rate differential, with lower domestic rates leading to an increase in local lending, at the expense of a reduction in foreign lending. We test our prediction in the context of changes in interest rates in six major currency areas.

Using confidential microdata, we show that shocks to primary dealers’ constraints have significant effects on the U.S. Treasury securities market. We consider two types of constraints: the supplementary leverage ratio and trading desk value-at-risk constraints. In response to tighter constraints, dealers reduce their Treasury positions, triggering a reduction in aggregate turnover and an increase in dealer intermediation margin. Impaired intermediation also amplifies the yield response to net demand shifts and weakens Treasury auction outcomes. Our estimates suggest that the (shadow) cost of dealer constraints is as high as 9% of dealers’ profit margins.