Auction Timing Under Limited Information: Evidence from Sovereign Bond Auctions Staff analytical paper 2026-51 Jeffrey Gao, Adam Epp This paper examines how auction timing may affect sovereign issuance outcomes through its interaction with market volatility. Using Canada as a case study, it shows that: (1) higher same-day bond market volatility is associated with larger auction tails, indicating weaker demand conditions; and (2) monetary policy announcements and certain macroeconomic data releases are systematically associated with higher same-day volatility. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical paper JEL Code(s): D, D4, D44, E, E4, E43, G, G1, G12, G14, H, H6, H63 Research Theme(s): Financial markets and funds management, Funds management, Market functioning
Stress in the Press or Stress in the Market: A New Measure of Perceived Financial Stress Staff analytical paper 2026-50 Brett Barnes, Thibaut Duprey, Fred Liu We develop a news-based measure of perceived financial stress for Canada using Globe and Mail articles since 1977. We show that news shocks primarily impact unsecured households credit, consistent with household precautionary behavior. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical paper JEL Code(s): C, C5, C55, C8, C82, E, E4, E44, G, G0, G01 Research Theme(s): Financial system, Financial stability and systemic risk, Household and business credit, Models and tools, Econometric, statistical and computational methods
How Costly Are Cross-Border Payments for Firms? Staff analytical paper 2026-49 Jiaqi Li Using proprietary FXC Intelligence data on quoted prices for Canadian business-to-business cross-border payments, this note finds that banks charge firms around 2–3.5% of transaction value. Prices vary considerably across banks for the same corridor, transaction amount, and year. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical paper JEL Code(s): E, E4, E42, F, F2, F29, Y, Y1, Y10 Research Theme(s): Money and payments, Payment and financial market infrastructures, Retail payments
What happens after Governing Council sets the policy interest rate: Inside the implementation framework that makes monetary policy work Staff analytical paper 2026-45 Kaetlynd McRae Setting the target rate is the most visible part of monetary policy, but the monetary policy implementation framework is what helps ensure that decision is reflected in financial markets. Through the design and use of its tools and facilities, the Bank of Canada helps keep short-term market interest rates close to the policy target, while preserving incentives for market participants to trade and actively manage liquidity. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical paper JEL Code(s): E, E4, E41, E42, E5, E51, E52, E58 Research Theme(s): Financial markets and funds management, Funds management, Monetary policy, Monetary policy framework and transmission, Monetary policy tools and implementation, Money and payments, Payment and financial market infrastructures
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