Scant use of capital buffers during the pandemic: Potential stigma effect
In order to alleviate the pressure wrought by COVID-19 on the banking sector, regulators and supervisors permitted banks to utilise capital buffers prescribed under Basel III, including the so-called counter-cyclical buffer and the capital conservation buffer. Econometric analysis shows that the 'stigma effect' most likely explains banks' hesitancy to take advantage of this flexibility.