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Central Bank Digital Currency and Bank Disintermediation in a Portfolio Choice Model
Would the introduction of a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) lead to lower deposits (disintermediation) and lending in the banking sector? This paper develops a model where households heterogeneous in wealth allocate between an illiquid asset and assets that can be used for payments: bank deposits, cash, and CBDC. CBDC is more efficient as a means of payment and has lower access cost than deposits. Deposits are offered by an imperfectly competitive banking sector which raises deposit interest rates after CBDC introduction to prevent substitution away from deposits to CBDC. We find that there are two opposing ... (full story)