A Note on Central Counterparties in Repo Markets Staff Discussion Paper 2012-4 Hajime Tomura The author introduces a central counterparty (CCP) into a model of a repo market. Without the CCP, there exist multiple equilibria in the model. In one of the equilibria, a repo market emerges as bond dealers and cash investors choose to arrange repos in an over-the-counter bond market. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Research Topic(s): Financial markets, Financial stability, Payment clearing and settlement systems JEL Code(s): G, G2, G24
A Framework to Assess Vulnerabilities Arising from Household Indebtedness Using Microdata Staff Discussion Paper 2012-3 Ramdane Djoudad Rising levels of household indebtedness have created concerns about the vulnerabilities of households to adverse economic shocks and the impact on financial stability. To assess these risks, the author presents a formal stress-testing framework that uses microdata to simulate how various economic shocks affect the distribution of the debt-service ratio (DSR) for the household sector. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Research Topic(s): Econometric and statistical methods, Financial stability JEL Code(s): C, C1, C15, C3, C31, D, D1, D14, E, E5, E51
Why Is Cash (Still) So Entrenched? Insights from the Bank of Canada’s 2009 Methods-of-Payment Survey Staff Discussion Paper 2012-2 Carlos Arango, Dylan Hogg, Alyssa Lee The authors present key insights from the Bank of Canada’s 2009 Methods-of-Payment survey. In the survey, about 6,800 participants completed a questionnaire with detailed information regarding their personal finances, as well as their use and perceptions of different payment methods. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Research Topic(s): Bank notes, Financial services JEL Code(s): D, D1, D12, E, E4, E41, L, L8, L81
A Foreign Activity Measure for Predicting Canadian Exports Staff Discussion Paper 2012-1 Louis Morel The author constructs a measure of foreign activity that takes into account the composition of foreign demand for Canadian exports. It has a number of interesting features. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Research Topic(s): Balance of payments and components, Exchange rates, Recent economic and financial developments JEL Code(s): E, E0, E00, F, F1, F17
A Model of the EFA Liabilities Staff Discussion Paper 2011-11 Francisco Rivadeneyra, Oumar Dissou The authors describe the liabilities model of the Exchange Fund Account (EFA). The EFA is managed using an asset-liability matching framework that requires currency and duration matching of both sides of the balance sheet. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Research Topic(s): Debt management, Foreign reserves management JEL Code(s): G, G1, G12, G3, G32
Financial Frictions, Financial Shocks and Labour Market Fluctuations in Canada Staff Discussion Paper 2011-10 Yahong Zhang What are the effects of financial market imperfections on unemployment and vacancies in Canada? The author estimates the model of Zhang (2011) – a standard monetary dynamic stochastic general-equilibrium model augmented with explicit financial and labour market frictions – with Canadian data for the period 1984Q2–2010Q4, and uses it to examine the importance of financial shocks on labour market fluctuations in Canada. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Research Topic(s): Economic models, Financial markets, Labour markets JEL Code(s): E, E3, E32, E4, E44, J, J6
What Matters in Determining Capital Surcharges for Systemically Important Financial Institutions? Staff Discussion Paper 2011-9 Céline Gauthier, Toni Gravelle, Xuezhi Liu, Moez Souissi One way of internalizing the externalities that each individual bank imposes on the rest of the financial system is to impose capital surcharges on them in line with their systemic importance. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Research Topic(s): Financial system regulation and policies JEL Code(s): C, C1, C15, C8, C81, E, E4, E44, G, G0, G01, G2, G21
Exchange Rates and Individual Good’s Price Misalignment: Some Preliminary Evidence of Long-Horizon Predictability Staff Discussion Paper 2011-8 Wei Dong, Deokwoo Nam When prices are sticky, movements in the nominal exchange rate have a direct impact on international relative prices. A relative price misalignment would trigger an adjustment in consumption and employment, and may help to predict future movements in the exchange rate. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Research Topic(s): Exchange rates, International topics JEL Code(s): F, F3, F31, F4, F47
The Impact of Operational Events on the Network Structure of the LVTS Staff Discussion Paper 2011-7 Tom Roberts The author uses a quantitative network analysis approach to assess how participants in the Large Value Transfer System (LVTS) respond to partial outages at other banks. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Research Topic(s): Payment clearing and settlement systems JEL Code(s): C, C4, C49, G, G1, G14, G2, G21
The Role of Financial Speculation in Driving the Price of Crude Oil Staff Discussion Paper 2011-6 Ron Alquist, Olivier Gervais Over the past 10 years, financial firms have increased the size of their positions in the oil futures market. At the same time, oil prices have increased dramatically. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Research Topic(s): International topics JEL Code(s): G, G1, G12, Q, Q4, Q41