Alejandro García

Author

Staff analytical notes

Can regulating bank capital help prevent and mitigate financial downturns?

Staff Analytical Note 2021-12 Alejandro García, Josef Schroth
Countercyclical capital buffers are regulatory measures developed in response to the global financial crisis of 2008–09. This note focuses on how time-varying capital buffers can improve financial stability in Canada
Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes Research Topic(s): Business fluctuations and cycles, Credit and credit aggregates, Credit risk management, Financial stability, Financial system regulation and policies, Lender of last resort JEL Code(s): E, E1, E13, E3, E32, E4, E44

The potential effect of a central bank digital currency on deposit funding in Canada

Staff Analytical Note 2020-15 Alejandro García, Bena Lands, Xuezhi Liu, Joshua Slive
A retail central bank digital currency denominated in Canadian dollars could, in theory, create competition for bank deposit funding.
Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes Research Topic(s): Digital currencies and fintech, Financial institutions, Financial stability JEL Code(s): E, E4, E41, E44, E5, G, G1, G10, G17, G2, G21, G3, G32, O

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Staff discussion papers

The Role of Public Money in the Digital Age

Staff Discussion Paper 2024-11 Francisco Rivadeneyra, Scott Hendry, Alejandro García
A well-functioning monetary system is characterized by public and private forms of money that exchange at par as value flows freely between them. A relevant retail public money—whether in the form of cash, a central bank digital currency or both—is a necessary component of such a monetary system.
Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Research Topic(s): Central bank research, Digital currencies and fintech, Payment clearing and settlement systems JEL Code(s): E, E4, E42, E5, E50, E58

The Relative Benefits and Risks of Stablecoins as a Means of Payment: A Case Study Perspective

Staff Discussion Paper 2022-21 Annetta Ho, Sriram Darbha, Yuliya Gorelkina, Alejandro García
Our paper contributes to the discussion about the utility of stablecoins for retail payments through an objective, evidence-based approach that compares stablecoins with traditional retail payment methods. The paper also provides insights that could be useful in the design of central bank digital currencies.
Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Research Topic(s): Digital currencies and fintech, Payment clearing and settlement systems JEL Code(s): D, D7, D78, O, O3, O38

Stablecoin Assessment Framework

Staff Discussion Paper 2021-6 Alejandro García, Bena Lands, Dennis Yanchus
We offer relevant authorities a three-step assessment framework they can use to understand, identify and quantify the risks associated with stablecoin and other cryptocurrency arrangements.
Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Research Topic(s): Digital currencies and fintech, Financial institutions, Financial markets, Financial system regulation and policies, Payment clearing and settlement systems JEL Code(s): D, D7, D78, D8, D81, G, G0, G01, G1, G18, O, O3, O38

Market Expectations and Option Prices: Evidence for the Can$/US$ Exchange Rate

Staff Discussion Paper 2010-2 Alejandro García, Andrei Prokopiw
Security prices contain valuable information that can be used to make a wide variety of economic decisions. To extract this information, a model is required that relates market prices to the desired information, and that ideally can be implemented using timely and low-cost methods.
Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Research Topic(s): Econometric and statistical methods, Exchange rates, Financial markets JEL Code(s): C, C0, C00, C02, G, G1, G13

Measures of Aggregate Credit Conditions and Their Potential Use by Central Banks

Staff Discussion Paper 2009-12 Alejandro García, Andrei Prokopiw
Understanding the nature of credit risk has important implications for financial stability. Since authorities – notably, central banks – focus on risks that have systemic implications, it is crucial to develop ways to measure these risks.
Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Research Topic(s): Credit and credit aggregates, Financial markets, Financial stability JEL Code(s): G, G1, G10, G12, G13

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Staff working papers

Managing Adverse Dependence for Portfolios of Collateral in Financial Infrastructures

Staff Working Paper 2007-25 Alejandro García, Ramazan Gençay
We propose a framework that allows a portfolio manager to quantify the probability of simultaneous losses in multiple assets of a collateral portfolio. Using this framework, we propose a methodology to conduct stress tests on the market value of the portfolio of collateral when undesirable extreme dependence occurs.
Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Econometric and statistical methods, Financial markets, Financial stability JEL Code(s): C, C1, C10, G, G0, G00, G1, G10

Risk-Cost Frontier and Collateral Valuation in Securities Settlement Systems for Extreme Market Events

Staff Working Paper 2006-17 Alejandro García, Ramazan Gençay
The authors examine how the use of extreme value theory yields collateral requirements that are robust to extreme fluctuations in the market price of the asset used as collateral.
Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Econometric and statistical methods, Financial stability, Payment clearing and settlement systems JEL Code(s): C, C1, G, G0, G1

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Bank publications

Bank of Canada Review articles

May 19, 2011

Central Bank Collateral Policy: Insights from Recent Experience

Bank of Canada Review - Spring 2011 Lorie Zorn, Alejandro García
The collateral policy of central banks played a critical role during the recent financial crisis, as they worked to bolster liquidity and alleviate the funding pressures facing financial institutions. This article examines central bank collateral policy and discusses three areas in which central banks can use their collateral policy to influence financial market practices: promoting greater transparency for securitized products, improving practices related to credit risk, and reducing procyclicality in the management of market risk.
Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles Research Topic(s): Financial markets, Financial stability, Payment clearing and settlement systems
September 11, 2009

Understanding Corporate Bond Spreads Using Credit Default Swaps

Bank of Canada Review - Autumn 2009 Alejandro García, Jun Yang
Corporate bond spreads worldwide have widened markedly since the beginning of the credit crisis in 2007. This article examines default and liquidity risk–the main components of the corporate bond spread–for Canadian firms that issue bonds in the U.S. market, focusing in particular on their evolution during the credit crisis. They find that, during this period, the liquidity component increased more for speculative-grade bonds than it did for investment-grade bonds, consistent with a "flight-to-quality" phenomenon. An important implication of their results for policy-makers seeking to address problems in credit markets is that the liquidity risk in corporate spreads for investment and speculative bonds behaves differently than the default risk, especially during crisis episodes.
Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles Research Topic(s): Econometric and statistical methods, Financial markets, Financial stability

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Financial System Review articles