The International Journal of Financial Systems
Vol. 4 No. 1 (2026)

Green Loans and Bank Intermediary Costs: : Evidence from Net Interest Margin and Loan Interest in Indonesia

Tumbelaka, Indra (Unknown)
Handogo, Heru Setyo (Unknown)



Article Info

Publish Date
30 Jun 2026

Abstract

Employing a unique dataset of green and non-green loans in Indonesia, we show that banks’ loan allocation in environmentally and non-environmentally friendly activities are associated with bank intermediary costs. Our study utilizes green loan taxonomies released by the Indonesian Financial Services Authority to classify loans into green, transition, and unqualified categories. Using dynamic and static models, as well as GMM and fixed-effects estimators on bank-level panel data, we provide evidence that banks with larger green loan portfolios have lower intermediation costs, whereas banks with larger non-green loan portfolios have higher intermediation costs. We further confirm our findings by showing that green loans are associated with lower bank and loan interest spreads, implying that banks in a developing country consider environmental information in their lending decisions and perceive green loans as less risky. Our study contributes to the literature on net interest margins and green loan pricing in developing countries.

Copyrights © 2026






Journal Info

Abbrev

ijfs

Publisher

Subject

Economics, Econometrics & Finance

Description

Financial systems form the backbone of modern economies, comprising a complex network of institutions, markets, regulations, and instruments that facilitate the efficient allocation of resources, risk management, and economic growth. Given the increasingly interconnected nature of our global ...