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
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
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
The Boundaries of Bank Funding: The Case of Canadian Cash ETFs Staff analytical paper 2026-32 Jean-Sébastien Fontaine, Vincent Meh, Jayden Plener The rise and transformation of Canadian cash ETFs highlight that banking liquidity regulation affects more than bank resilience. By changing the relative attractiveness of deposits and securities, it can shape where asset managers allocate their cash across the financial system. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical paper JEL Code(s): E, E4, E44, G, G1, G11, G18, G2, G23, G28 Research Theme(s): Financial markets and funds management, Funds management, Financial system, Financial institutions and intermediation
Central Clearing in Repo Markets: Do the Benefits Extend to Non-Dealers? Staff analytical paper 2026-31 Danny Auger, Adrian Walton This note examines whether central clearing of repos benefits non-dealer participants in Canadian fixed-income markets. While prior research highlights lower funding and balance-sheet costs for dealers, less is known about client effects. Understanding these broader implications is important for assessing central clearing’s contribution to market efficiency and resilience. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical paper JEL Code(s): E, E4, E44, G, G1, G12, G2, G21, G23 Research Theme(s): Financial markets and funds management, Market structure
The Impact of Potential Retail Central Bank Digital Currency on the Canadian Financial System During a Severe Recession Staff analytical paper 2026-30 Sofia Priazhkina This policy note examines how a non-interest-bearing retail central bank digital currency (CBDC) could affect the financial stability of Canada’s systemically important banks during a severe recession. Stress test results show that the banks remain resilient, maintaining key regulatory ratios even under high CBDC demand. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical paper JEL Code(s): E, E4, E44, E5, E58, E6, E61, G, G0, G01, G2, G21, G28 Research Theme(s): Financial system, Financial stability and systemic risk, Models and tools, Economic models, Money and payments, Digital assets and fintech, Structural challenges, Digitalization and productivity
Everything You Want to Know About the Bank’s Standing Liquidity Facility… But were too afraid to ask! Staff analytical paper 2026-26 Kaetlynd McRae, Jessie Ziqing Chen The Standing Liquidity Facility (SLF) is one of the Bank of Canada’s least discussed tools—and one of its most important. Embedded directly in Canada’s high value payment system, Lynx, the SLF operates quietly in the background every business day, ensuring the smooth settlement of payments and reinforcing the implementation of monetary policy. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical paper JEL Code(s): E, E4, E41, E42, E44, E5, E58, E59, G, G2, G21, G28 Research Theme(s): Financial markets and funds management, Market functioning, Financial system, Financial institutions and intermediation, Monetary policy, Monetary policy tools and implementation, Money and payments, Payment and financial market infrastructures
Unpacking interest rate uncertainty in 2025 Staff analytical paper 2026-25 Harshbir Kaur, Rishi Vala Amid heightened Canada–US trade tensions in 2025, financial markets showed signs that investors had greater difficulty anticipating near-term Bank of Canada interest rate decisions. We look at the Overnight Index Swap prices and intraday Government of Canada yields to identify the main driver of uncertainty around interest rate decisions. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical paper JEL Code(s): C, C5, C58, D, D5, D53, E, E4, E44, E5, E52, E58 Research Theme(s): Financial markets and funds management, Market functioning, Models and tools, Econometric, statistical and computational methods, Monetary policy, Monetary policy framework and transmission