June 9, 2016 Large Canadian Public Pension Funds: A Financial System Perspective Financial System Review - June 2016 Guillaume Bédard-Pagé, Annick Demers, Eric Tuer, Miville Tremblay The authors review the eight largest public pension funds in Canada. These funds are an important source of retirement income for Canadians. They are also significant investors, with net assets under management of over $1 trillion. The authors outline the investment strategies of the funds and how they interact with financial institutions and participate in financial markets. They also discuss the ways in which the funds’ risk-management frameworks could contribute to financial system stability and how they minimize potential vulnerabilities. Content Type(s): Publications, Financial System Review articles Topic(s): Financial institutions, Financial stability, International financial markets JEL Code(s): G, G1, G11, G2, G23
Timing of Banks’ Loan Loss Provisioning During the Crisis Staff Working Paper 2016-27 Leo de Haan, Maarten van Oordt We estimate a panel error correction model for loan loss provisions, using unique supervisory data on flow of funds into and out of the allowance for loan losses of 25 Dutch banks in the post-2008 crisis period. We find that these banks aim for an allowance of 49% of impaired loans. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Financial institutions, Financial stability JEL Code(s): G, G0, G01, G2, G21, G3, G32
The Impact of Bankruptcy Reform on Insolvency Choice and Consumer Credit Staff Working Paper 2016-26 Jason Allen, Kiana Basiri We examine the impact of the 2009 amendments to the Canadian Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act on insolvency decisions. Rule changes steered debtors out of division I proposals and into the more cost-effective division II proposals. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Credit and credit aggregates, Financial institutions, Financial system regulation and policies JEL Code(s): D, D1, D14, G, G2, K, K3, K35
Opaque Assets and Rollover Risk Staff Working Paper 2016-17 Benjamin Nelson, Toni Ahnert We model the asset-opacity choice of an intermediary subject to rollover risk in wholesale funding markets. Greater opacity means investors form more dispersed beliefs about an intermediary’s profitability. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Financial institutions, Financial stability JEL Code(s): G, G0, G01, G2
Asset Encumbrance, Bank Funding and Financial Fragility Staff Working Paper 2016-16 Kartik Anand, Prasanna Gai, James Chapman, Toni Ahnert In this piece we show that a limit on the level of asset encumbrance and minimum capital requirements are effective tools for minimizing the incentive for banks to take excessive risk. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Financial institutions, Financial stability, Financial system regulation and policies JEL Code(s): D, D8, D82, G, G0, G01, G2, G21, G28
Capital Structure, Pay Structure and Job Termination Staff Working Paper 2016-12 Jason Allen, James R. Thompson We develop a model to analyze the link between financial leverage, worker pay structure and the risk of job termination. Contrary to the conventional view, we show that even in the absence of any agency problem among workers, variable pay can be optimal despite workers being risk averse and firms risk neutral. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Financial institutions, Labour markets JEL Code(s): G, G2, G24, J, J3, J33
Canadian Repo Market Ecology Staff Discussion Paper 2016-8 Corey Garriott, Kyle Gray This is the first of the Financial Markets Department’s descriptions of Canadian financial industrial organization. The document discusses the organization of the repurchase-agreement (repo) market in Canada. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Topic(s): Financial institutions, Financial markets, Financial system regulation and policies, Market structure and pricing JEL Code(s): G, G1, G18, G2, G21, G23
A Microfounded Design of Interconnectedness-Based Macroprudential Policy Staff Working Paper 2016-6 Jose Fique To address the challenges posed by global systemically important banks (G-SIBs), the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision recommended an “additional loss absorbency requirement” for these institutions. Along these lines, I develop a microfounded design of capital surcharges that target the interconnectedness component of systemic risk. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Financial institutions, Financial system regulation and policies JEL Code(s): D, D8, D82, D85, G, G2, G21, G28
December 15, 2015 Residential Mortgage Securitization in Canada: A Review Financial System Review - December 2015 Adi Mordel Residential mortgage securitization plays an important role in the Canadian system of housing finance, especially given the rising share of government-supported (i.e., public) securitization over the past 15 years. Mordel and Stephens analyze the evolution of two types of mortgage securitization in Canada— private and public — focusing in particular on the underlying public policy and economic benefits of the latter. They review the potential implications of the extent of public securitization and conclude with a discussion of policies that could be considered to reinvigorate private securitization in Canada. Content Type(s): Publications, Financial System Review articles Topic(s): Financial institutions, Financial stability, Financial system regulation and policies, Housing JEL Code(s): G, G2, G28
Emergency Liquidity Facilities, Signalling and Funding Costs Staff Working Paper 2015-44 Céline Gauthier, Alfred Lehar, Héctor Pérez Saiz, Moez Souissi In the months preceding the failure of Lehman Brothers in September 2008, banks were willing to pay a premium over the Federal Reserve’s discount window (DW) rate to participate in the much less flexible Term Auction Facility (TAF). We empirically test the predictions of a new signalling model that offers a rationale for offering two different liquidity facilities. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Financial institutions, Financial stability, Lender of last resort JEL Code(s): G, G0, G01, G2, G21, G28