Stablecoins and Their Risks to Financial Stability Staff Discussion Paper 2022-20 Cameron MacDonald, Laura Zhao What risks could stablecoins pose to the financial system? We argue that the stabilization mechanisms of stablecoins give rise to the risk of confidence runs, which can propagate to broader cryptoasset markets and the traditional financial sector. We also argue that stablecoins can contribute to financial stability risks by facilitating the buildup of leverage and liquidity mismatch in decentralized finance. Such risks cannot be addressed by ensuring the price stability of stablecoins alone. Finally, we explore the potential implications of stablecoins for the current system of bank-intermediated credit and for monetary policy. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Topic(s): Digital currencies and fintech, Financial institutions, Financial markets, Financial stability, Financial system regulation and policies JEL Code(s): E, E4, E42, E44, E5, E58, G, G2, G23
Considerations for the allocation of non-default losses by financial market infrastructures Staff Analytical Note 2022-16 Daniele Costanzo, Radoslav Raykov Non-default losses of financial market infrastructures (FMIs) have gained attention due to their potential impacts on FMIs and FMI participants, and the lack of a common approach to address them. A key question is, who should absorb these losses? Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes Topic(s): Financial markets, Financial system regulation and policies JEL Code(s): G, G2, G23, G28, G3, G32, G33
Fixed-income dealing and central bank interventions Staff Analytical Note 2022-9 David Cimon, Adrian Walton We summarize the theoretical model of central bank asset purchases developed in Cimon and Walton (2022). The model helps us understand how asset purchases ease pressures on investment dealers to restore market conditions in a crisis. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes Topic(s): Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Economic models, Financial institutions, Financial markets, Market structure and pricing JEL Code(s): G, G1, G10, G2, G20, L, L1, L10
Potential netting benefits from expanded central clearing in Canada’s fixed-income market Staff Analytical Note 2022-8 Jessie Ziqing Chen, Johannes Chen, Shamarthi Ghosh, Manu Pandey, Adrian Walton We assess whether more central clearing would enhance the resilience of Canadian fixed-income markets. Our analysis estimates the potential benefits of balance sheet netting under scenarios where central clearing is expanded to new participants. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes Topic(s): Credit risk management, Financial institutions, Financial markets JEL Code(s): D, D4, G, G1, G12, G2, G21, G29
Settlement Balances Deconstructed Staff Discussion Paper 2022-13 Parnell Chu, Grahame Johnson, Scott Kinnear, Karen McGuinness, Matthew McNeely Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, public interest in the Bank’s balance sheet and, more specifically, the size of settlement balances, has grown. This paper deconstructs the concept of settlement balances and provides some context on their history, current state and possible future evolution. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Topic(s): Central bank research, Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Financial markets, Monetary policy implementation JEL Code(s): E, E5, E58, E59, E6, G, G0, G01
Financial Intermediaries and the Macroeconomy: Evidence from a High-Frequency Identification Staff Working Paper 2022-24 Pablo Ottonello, Wenting Song We provide empirical evidence of effects to the aggregate economy from surprises about financial intermediaries’ net worth based on a high-frequency identification strategy. We estimate that news of a 1% decline in intermediaries’ net worth leads to a 0.2%–0.4% decrease in the market value of nonfinancial firms. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Asset pricing, Business fluctuations and cycles, Credit and credit aggregates, Financial institutions, Financial markets, Financial system regulation and policies, Monetary and financial indicators JEL Code(s): E, E3, E32, E4, E44, E5, E51, G, G0, G01, G1, G12, G2, G21, G23, G24, G3, G32
Expectation-Driven Term Structure of Equity and Bond Yields Staff Working Paper 2022-21 Ming Zeng, Guihai Zhao Recent findings on the term structure of equity and bond yields pose serious challenges to existing models of equilibrium asset pricing. This paper presents a new equilibrium model of subjective expectations to explain the joint historical dynamics of equity and bond yields (and their yield spreads). Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Asset pricing, Financial markets, Interest rates JEL Code(s): E, E4, E43, G, G0, G00, G1, G12
More Than Words: Fed Chairs’ Communication During Congressional Testimonies Staff Working Paper 2022-20 Michelle Alexopoulos, Xinfen Han, Oleksiy Kryvtsov, Xu Zhang We measure soft information contained in the congressional testimonies of U.S. Federal Reserve Chairs and analyze its effect on financial markets. Increases in the Chair’s text-, voice-, or face-emotion indices during these testimonies generally raise stock prices and lower their volatility. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Central bank research, Financial markets, Monetary policy communications JEL Code(s): E, E5, E52, E58, E7, E71
Historical Data on Repurchase Agreements from the Canadian Depository for Securities Technical Report No. 121 Maxim Ralchenko, Adrian Walton We develop an algorithm that extracts information about sale and repurchase agreements (repos) from disaggregated settlement data in order to generate a new historical dataset for research. Content Type(s): Staff research, Technical reports Topic(s): Econometric and statistical methods, Financial markets JEL Code(s): C, C5, C55, C8, C81, G, G1, G10
Central Bank Liquidity Facilities and Market Making Staff Working Paper 2022-9 David Cimon, Adrian Walton We create a theoretical model of central bank asset purchases. The model helps explain how, in a crisis, these purchases ease pressures on investment dealers. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Economic models, Financial institutions, Financial markets, Market structure and pricing JEL Code(s): G, G1, G10, G2, G20, L, L1, L10