Toni Ahnert

Author

Staff research

Cyber Risk and Security Investment

Staff working paper 2022-32 Toni Ahnert, Michael Brolley, David Cimon, Ryan Riordan
We develop a principal-agent model of cyber-attacking with fee-paying clients who delegate security decisions to financial platforms. We derive testable implications about clients’ vulnerability to cyber attacks and about the fees charged.

Bank Runs, Bank Competition and Opacity

Staff working paper 2021-30 Toni Ahnert, David Martinez-Miera
How is the stability of the financial sector affected by competition in the deposit market and by decisions banks make about transparency? We find that policies that aim to increase bank competition lead to higher bank deposit rates, increasing both withdrawal incentives and instability.

Trading for Bailouts

Staff working paper 2020-23 Toni Ahnert, Caio Machado, Ana Elisa Pereira
In times of high uncertainty, governments often implement interventions such as bailouts to financial institutions. To use public resources efficiently and to avoid major spillovers to the rest of the economy, policy-makers try to identify which institutions should receive assistance.

Loan Insurance, Market Liquidity, and Lending Standards

Staff working paper 2019-47 Toni Ahnert, Martin Kuncl
We examine loan insurance—credit risk transfer upon origination—in a model in which lenders can screen, learn loan quality over time, and can sell loans. Some lenders with low screening ability insure, benefiting from higher market liquidity of insured loans while forgoing the option to exploit future information about loan quality.

Bank Runs, Portfolio Choice, and Liquidity Provision

Staff working paper 2019-37 Toni Ahnert, Mahmoud Elamin
After the financial crisis of 2007–09, many jurisdictions introduced new banking regulations to make banks more resilient and less likely to fail. These regulations included tighter limits for the quality and quantity of bank capital and introduced minimum standards for liquidity. But what was the impact of these changes?

Macroprudential FX Regulations: Shifting the Snowbanks of FX Vulnerability?

Can macroprudential foreign exchange (FX) regulations on banks reduce the financial and macroeconomic vulnerabilities created by borrowing in foreign currency? To evaluate the effectiveness and unintended consequences of macroprudential FX regulations, we develop a parsimonious model of bank and market lending in domestic and foreign currency and derive four predictions.

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Bank publications

Financial System Review articles

June 7, 2018

Covered Bonds as a Source of Funding for Banks’ Mortgage Portfolios

The author traces developments in the Canadian covered bond market. Covered bonds could be a valuable way to provide a stable and diverse source of funding, particularly for smaller banks. However, higher issuance could increase banks’ vulnerability to liquidity stress, with implications for the broader financial system. The author argues that these benefits and challenges can be balanced in a well-designed policy framework.
Content Type(s): Publications, Financial System Review articles JEL Code(s): G, G1, G2, G21, G28

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