Monetary policy tools and implementation

• Extraordinary Forward Guidance in Canada During the Pandemic

  Staff analytical paper 2026-1 Christopher S. Sutherland

  We consider two trade-offs inherent to extraordinary forward guidance (EFG): potency versus flexibility, and the credibility of forward guidance versus the credibility of inflation targeting. We argue that the form of EFG used by the Bank of Canada during the COVID‑19 pandemic balanced both trade-offs relatively well.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical paper JEL Code(s): D, D3, D8, D83, D84, E, E3, E37, E5, E52, E58 Research Theme(s): Monetary policy, Monetary policy tools and implementation

• The Dealer-to-Client Repo Market: A Buoy on a Swaying Sea

  Staff discussion paper 2025-14 Greg Adams, Evan Dudley, Jean-Sébastien Fontaine, Sofia Tchamova, Andreas Uthemann

  In 2024, the Canadian Overnight Repo Rate Average (CORRA) rose 7 basis points above the Bank of Canada’s target overnight rate as settlement balances declined and hedge fund borrowing increased by $30 billion, straining dealers’ balance sheets. Exercising market power, dealers raised rates, and as client activity grew, these higher rates increasingly influenced CORRAs deviation from target.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers JEL Code(s): D, D4, D5, D53, E, E4, E43, E44, E5, E52, G, G1, G12 Research Theme(s): Financial markets and funds management, Market functioning, Market structure, Financial system, Financial institutions and intermediation, Monetary policy, Monetary policy tools and implementation

• Money Talks: How Foreign and Domestic Monetary Policy Communications Move Financial Markets

  Staff working paper 2025-33 Rodrigo Sekkel, Henry Stern, Xu Zhang

  We construct a dataset on Federal Reserve and Bank of Canada non-rate announcement events to provide novel insights into how foreign and domestic monetary policy communications affect the financial markets of open economies. We find that Fed non-rate communications have a stronger impact on long-term interest rates and stock futures, while Bank of Canada communications are relatively more important for short-term interest rates and the exchange rate.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): E, E5, E52, F, F3, F31, G, G1, G15 Research Theme(s): Financial markets and funds management, Market functioning, Monetary policy, Monetary policy tools and implementation, Structural challenges, International trade, finance and competitiveness

• The Optimum Quantity of Central Bank Reserves

  Staff working paper 2025-15 Jonathan Witmer

  This paper analyzes the optimal quantity of central bank reserves in an economy where reserves and other financial assets provide liquidity benefits. Using a static model, I derive a constrained Friedman rule that characterizes the socially optimal level of reserves, demonstrating that this quantity is neither necessarily large nor small but depends on the marginal benefits of reserves relative to alternative safe assets.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): E, E4, E41, E42, E5, E58, G, G2, G21, G28 Research Theme(s): Financial markets and funds management, Market functioning, Financial system, Financial institutions and intermediation, Monetary policy, Monetary policy tools and implementation

• Will Asset Managers Dash for Cash? Implications for Central Banks

  Staff discussion paper 2025-5 David Cimon, Jean-Philippe Dion, Jean-Sébastien Fontaine, Jabir Sandhu

  We consider ways central banks could adapt in the event of an increased risk of a dash for cash from asset managers. We explore ideas such as new facilities that ease asset managers’ ability to convert existing assets to cash or new assets with liquidity that central banks would guarantee.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers JEL Code(s): E, E5, E58, G, G0, G00, G01, G1, G2 Research Theme(s): Financial markets and funds management, Market functioning, Financial system, Financial institutions and intermediation, Financial stability and systemic risk, Monetary policy, Monetary policy tools and implementation

• The Contingent Term Repo Facility: Lessons learned and an update

  Staff analytical note 2025-12 Jessie Ziqing Chen, Parnell Chu, Scott Kinnear

  In 2024, the Bank of Canada reviewed and updated its Contingent Term Repo Facility policy, incorporating lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic and other global market developments, such as the UK gilt crisis in September 2022. This paper accompanies the March 17, 2025, Contingent Term Repo Facility market notice and provides background information and further details about the design of the revised policy.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes JEL Code(s): E, E5, E58, F, F6, F68, G, G0, G01, G2, G23 Research Theme(s): Financial system, Financial institutions and intermediation, Financial stability and systemic risk, Monetary policy, Monetary policy tools and implementation

• Preferences, Monetary Policy and Household Inflation

  Staff working paper 2024-45 Geoffrey R. Dunbar

  I quantify the importance of changes in household preferences on household inflation rates using 11 years of scanner data for 11,000 US households. My results suggest that changes in household preferences are an important driver of inflation dynamics at the household level.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): D, D1, D12, E, E5, E52, E58 Research Theme(s): Monetary policy, Inflation dynamics and pressures, Monetary policy framework and transmission, Monetary policy tools and implementation

• Mortgage stress tests and household financial resilience under monetary policy tightening

  Staff analytical note 2024-25 Jonathan Hartley, Nuno Paixão

  This note analyzes mortgage stress tests, a macroprudential tool. We find that when mortgage stress tests are applied to all mortgage purchase originations, they improve credit quality and reduce credit and house price growth. They also improve the resilience of borrowers to financial shocks, such as the large increase in interest rates during 2022–23.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes JEL Code(s): E, E5, E52, G, G2, G21, G28, G5, G50, G51 Research Theme(s): Financial system, Financial stability and systemic risk, Household and business credit, Monetary policy, Monetary policy tools and implementation

• Does Unconventional Monetary and Fiscal Policy Contribute to the COVID Inflation Surge in the US?

  Staff working paper 2024-38 Jing Cynthia Wu, Yinxi Xie, Ji Zhang

  We assess whether unconventional monetary and fiscal policy implemented in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S. contribute to the 2021-2023 inflation surge through the lens of several different empirical methodologies and establish a null result.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): E, E3, E31, E5, E52, E6, E63 Research Theme(s): Monetary policy, Inflation dynamics and pressures, Monetary policy tools and implementation

• Public and Private Money Creation for Distributed Ledgers: Stablecoins, Tokenized Deposits, or Central Bank Digital Currencies?

  Staff working paper 2024-35 Jonathan Chiu, Cyril Monnet

  This paper explores the implications of introducing digital public and private monies (e.g. tokenized central bank digital currency [CBDC] or tokenized deposits) for stablecoins and illicit crypto transactions.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): E, E5, E50, E58 Research Theme(s): Monetary policy, Monetary policy tools and implementation, Money and payments, Digital assets and fintech, Payment and financial market infrastructures