Direct and Indirect Impacts of Natural Disasters on Banks: A Spatial Framework

Abstract

We examine the direct and indirect impacts of natural disasters on deposit rates of bank branches during the 2008 – 2017 period. We find that spatial spillover effects substantially explain the total impact for deposit rate-setting branches. Our analysis and findings contribute to the existing literature by showing that the responses of branches to natural disasters are not confined only to those branches in counties directly affected but to branches in neighboring counties through competitive effects. Our results also confirm that spillover effects occur among branches across counties via a social connection and geographical network.