May 19, 2011 Understanding and Measuring Liquidity Risk: A Selection of Recent Research Bank of Canada Review - Spring 2011 Céline Gauthier, Hajime Tomura During the recent financial crisis, one of the forces set in motion by the initial losses on subprime-mortgage loans was a significant decline in the market liquidity of assets and in the ability of financial institutions to obtain funding in wholesale markets. In this article, the authors summarize recent research that clarifies the role of liquidity in destabilizing the financial system and examine the implications of this research for the recently announced financial system reforms, including Basel III. Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles Topic(s): Financial markets, Financial stability, Financial system regulation and policies
May 19, 2011 Lessons from the Use of Extraordinary Central Bank Liquidity Facilities Bank of Canada Review - Spring 2011 Stéphane Lavoie, Alex Sebastian, Virginie Traclet The recent crisis was characterized by widespread deterioration in funding conditions, as well as impairment of the mechanism through which liquidity is normally redistributed within the financial system. Central banks responded with extraordinary measures. This article examines the provision of liquidity by central banks during the crisis as they adapted their existing facilities and introduced new ones, while encouraging a return to private markets and mitigating moral hazard. A review of this experience illustrates the importance of clear principles for intervention, a flexible operating framework, and clear communication and co-operation by central banks. By exposing the degree of interdependence of financial institutions and markets, the crisis highlighted the need for reforms aimed at improving the infrastructure supporting core funding markets and the liquidity of individual institutions. Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles Topic(s): Financial markets, Financial stability, Lender of last resort
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 Topic(s): Financial markets, Financial stability, Payment clearing and settlement systems
February 17, 2011 Adverse Selection and Financial Crises Bank of Canada Review - Winter 2010-2011 Koralai Kirabaeva The recent financial crisis has highlighted the importance of adverse selection as a contributing factor to financial market instability. Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles Topic(s): Financial stability, Financial system regulation and policies, Market structure and pricing
February 17, 2011 Conference Summary: Financial Globalization and Financial Instability Bank of Canada Review - Winter 2010-2011 Scott Hendry The Bank of Canada’s annual conference, held in October 2010, brought together leading researchers from universities and central banks around the world. Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles Topic(s): Central bank research, Financial markets, Financial stability, Financial system regulation and policies
Financial Spillovers Across Countries: The Case of Canada and the United States Staff Discussion Paper 2011-1 Kimberly Beaton, Brigitte Desroches The authors investigate financial spillovers across countries with an emphasis on the effect of shocks to financial conditions in the United States on financial conditions and economic activity in Canada. These questions are addressed within a global vector autoregression model. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Topic(s): Business fluctuations and cycles, Economic models, Financial stability, International topics JEL Code(s): E, E2, E27, E3, E32, F, F3, F36, F4, F40
Leverage, Balance Sheet Size and Wholesale Funding Staff Working Paper 2010-39 H. Evren Damar, Césaire Meh, Yaz Terajima Some evidence points to the procyclicality of leverage among financial institutions leading to aggregate volatility. This procyclicality occurs when financial institutions finance their assets with non-equity funding (i.e., debt financed asset expansions). Wholesale funding is an important source of market-based funding that allows some institutions to quickly adjust their leverage. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Financial stability, Financial system regulation and policies, Recent economic and financial developments JEL Code(s): G, G2, G21, G28
The Impact of Liquidity on Bank Profitability Staff Working Paper 2010-38 Étienne Bordeleau, Christopher Graham The recent crisis has underlined the importance of sound bank liquidity management. In response, regulators are devising new liquidity standards with the aim of making the financial system more stable and resilient. In this paper, the authors analyse the impact of liquid asset holdings on bank profitability for a sample of large U.S. and Canadian banks. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Financial institutions, Financial stability, Financial system regulation and policies JEL Code(s): G, G2, G21, G3, G32, G33
The Macroeconomic Implications of Changes in Bank Capital and Liquidity Requirements in Canada: Insights from the BoC-GEM-FIN Staff Discussion Paper 2010-16 Carlos De Resende, Ali Dib, Nikita Perevalov The authors use simulations within the BoC-GEM-FIN, the Bank of Canada's version of the Global Economy Model with financial frictions in both the demand and supply sides of the credit market, to investigate the macroeconomic implications of changing bank regulations on the Canadian economy. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Topic(s): Economic models, Financial institutions, Financial stability, International topics JEL Code(s): E, E3, E32, E4, E44, E5, G, G1, G2
Adverse Selection, Liquidity, and Market Breakdown Staff Working Paper 2010-32 Koralai Kirabaeva This paper studies the interaction between adverse selection, liquidity risk and beliefs about systemic risk in determining market liquidity, asset prices and welfare. Even a small amount of adverse selection in the asset market can lead to fire-sale pricing and possibly to a market breakdown if it is accompanied by a flight-to-liquidity, a misassessment of systemic risk, or uncertainty about asset values. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Financial institutions, Financial markets, Financial stability JEL Code(s): D, D8, D82, G, G0, G01, G1, G11