A New Approach to Estimating Portfolio-Balance Models of the Yield Curve Staff working paper 2026-33 Antonio Diez de los Rios Portfolio-balance models of the yield curve are notoriously hard to estimate. This paper offers a simple, two-step estimation approach that can be implemented with standard term structure estimation methods. In our application to U.S. Treasury data, our method recovers economically interpretable drivers of the yield curve. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): E, E4, E43, E44, G, G1, G12, H, H6, H63 Research Theme(s): Financial markets and funds management, Funds management, Models and tools, Econometric, statistical and computational methods
Liquidity Optimization in Gross Settlement Systems with Quantum Reordering: Application to TARGET2∗ Staff working paper 2026-32 Valerio Astuti, Adriano Baldeschi, Luca Bastianelli, Giuseppe Bruno, Riccardo Russo, Ajit Desai, Danica Marsden Building on our earlier quantum algorithm, this paper shows that reordering queued payments can significantly reduce liquidity needs. The algorithm performs well on smaller payment batches, while traditional algorithms can process larger batches and deliver greater savings. Machine learning also helps identify which payment patterns offer the greatest potential for improvement. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): C, C6, C61, C63, C8, C83, E, E4, E42, E5, E58 Research Theme(s): Models and tools, Econometric, statistical and computational methods, Money and payments, Payment and financial market infrastructures
Labor Markets, Financial Crises, and Inflation: Jobless and Wageless Recoveries* Staff working paper 2026-31 Guillermo Calvo, Emilio Colombi, Fabrizio Coricelli, Pablo Ottonello We document the macroeconomic patterns that characterize labor market recovery from financial crises. Using a sample of postwar recession episodes from around the world, we show that financial crises are typically followed by jobless recoveries, with a sluggish recovery in employment relative to output. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): E, E2, E3, E31, E4, E44, F, F3, F32 Research Theme(s): Monetary policy, Inflation dynamics and pressures, Real economy and forecasting
Climate Change and Monetary Policy: Navigating Physical Risks Staff analytical paper 2026-44 Tatjana Dahlhaus Weather-related disasters can reduce output while increasing inflation, creating difficult trade-offs for monetary policy. This note reviews evidence on the macroeconomic effects of physical climate risks and uses a structural model to assess how more frequent and severe disasters could shape future monetary policy challenges. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical paper JEL Code(s): C, C6, C68, E, E1, E12, E3, E31, E5, E52, F, F4, F41, Q, Q5, Q54 Research Theme(s): Monetary policy, Inflation dynamics and pressures, Monetary policy framework and transmission, Structural challenges, Climate change
Segmented Inflation Dynamics (SID): Identifying Trend Inflation from the Price Index Staff analytical paper 2026-43 André Binette, Colleen Smith This note presents Segmented Inflation Dynamics (SID), a data-driven tool for assessing trend inflation. SID uses time-series segmentation to divide the price index into contiguous segments with stable inflation rates. Based on data through December 2025, SID indicates that Canada’s trend inflation has been near 2 percent since early 2024. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical paper JEL Code(s): C, C2, C22, E, E3, E31, E5, E52 Research Theme(s): Models and tools, Econometric, statistical and computational methods, Monetary policy, Inflation dynamics and pressures
Merchant Access to Cash: Going the Extra Kilometer? Staff analytical paper 2026-41 Angelika Welte, Stephen Wild, Patrick Fogaing kouamo In this study, we measure SMBs’ access to cash using the driving distance to financial institution (FI) branches. First, we measure the distance between SMBs and the nearest FI branch. Second, we use a sample of 651 SMBs from the 2023 Merchant Acceptance Survey to examine SMBs’ banking choices. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical paper JEL Code(s): D, D8, D83, E, E4, E41 Research Theme(s): Money and payments, Cash and bank notes, Retail payments
Balancing the Canadian Repo Market through QT: The Diminishing Role of Settlement Balances Staff analytical paper 2026-40 Evan Dudley, Jean-Sébastien Fontaine, Dimitri Hadjistavropoulos, Neil Maru, Sofia Tchamova, Andreas Uthemann, Jun Yang Repo market imbalances can be large and persistent, and can lift the cost of short-term funding in Canada, including the CORRA benchmark. Banks’ holdings of settlement balances absorbed most of the repo imbalances during QE, but have become far less central by the end of QT. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical paper JEL Code(s): E, E5, E52, E58 Research Theme(s): Financial system, Financial institutions and intermediation, Monetary policy, Monetary policy tools and implementation
Tracking Heterogeneous Spending Patterns with Credit Card Microdata Staff analytical paper 2026-38 Jia Qi Xiao, Jackson Reid, Joey Daniels We present a measure of account-level credit card spending constructed using credit bureau microdata, capturing monthly spending for approximately 80% of adults in Canada. Our measure offers higher frequency than other publicly available consumption metrics, and can be disaggregated by age, geographic location and credit history. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical paper JEL Code(s): C, C5, C55, C8, C81, D, D1, D14, E, E2, E21, E3, E32, G, G5, G51 Research Theme(s): Financial system, Financial stability and systemic risk, Financial system regulation and oversight, Household and business credit, Monetary policy, Real economy and forecasting
Time Use and Consumption Expenditures Staff working paper 2026-29 Daniela Hauser, Stefano Gnocchi, Laure Simon This paper shows that consumption activities toward which households reallocate more time in recessions see larger expenditure declines, revealing a systematic link between time-use and expenditure cyclicality. A two-sector New Keynesian model shows this time-expenditure substitution explains roughly forty percent of consumption's response to monetary policy shocks. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): D, D1, D12, E, E2, E21, E3, E32, E5, E52, J, J2, J22 Research Theme(s): Models and tools, Economic models, Monetary policy, Inflation dynamics and pressures, Monetary policy framework and transmission
2025 Methods-of-Payment Survey Report: Cash in an Increasingly Digital and Mobile Economy Staff analytical paper 2026-36 Marie-Hélène Felt, Saika Pacouloute, Angelika Welte The 2025 Methods-of-Payment Survey provides insights into how Canadians pay for their day-to-day purchases and how they use cash (i.e. banknotes and coins). While contactless card payments dominate in-person transactions, most Canadians maintain favourable views on cash and still hold and use it. They are also increasingly adopting mobile payments. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical paper JEL Code(s): D, D8, D83, E, E4, E41 Research Theme(s): Money and payments, Cash and bank notes, Retail payments