Bank Imputed Interest Rates: Unbiased Estimates of Offered Rates?
We examine whether “imputed” interest rates obtained from bank financial statements are unbiased
estimates of “offered” interest rates that the same banks report in surveys. We find evidence of a
statistically significant amount of bias. However, the statistical bias that we document does not appear to
be economically significant. When used as dependent variables in regression analysis, imputed rates and
offered rates lead to the same policy conclusions. Our work has important methodological implications
for empirical research that examines the product market competition among depository institutions.
