Time-Inconsistent Manager Incentives and Capital Formation Staff working paper 2026-25 José-Víctor Ríos-Rull, Josef Schroth, Tamon Takamura, Yaz Terajima In a dynamic model with limited commitment, aggregate payout-based compensation induces managers to raise outside equity yet invest too little today. Per-share compensation eliminates the dilution motive and restores efficient investment, but it does so through slower capital accumulation that better protects incumbent shareholder value. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): G, G3, G32, G34, J, J3, J33 Research Theme(s): Financial markets and funds management, Market functioning, Models and tools, Economic models
Assessing risks to oil prices through options markets Sparks at Bank article Harshbir Kaur, Eugene Trostin, Rishi Vala After the war in the Middle East began, futures markets hinted at how long oil prices could stay above their pre-war levels. Options on those futures further reveal how investors see the range and balance of risks around future oil prices—which helps central banks assess risks to inflation. Content Type(s): Staff research, Sparks at Bank article Research Theme(s): Financial markets and funds management, Market functioning, Monetary policy, Inflation dynamics and pressures, Monetary policy framework and transmission
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 investor base for sovereign debt: Why diversification matters Staff analytical paper 2026-29 Sam Foxall, Jeffrey Gao Sovereign borrowing is rising, just as central banks are stepping back. Meanwhile, commercial bank holdings of sovereign bonds remain well below pre-global financial crisis levels. This leaves foreign investors and investment funds, often hedge funds, to absorb more of this growing supply. Their greater involvement supports liquidity and robust auction results, but it can also concentrate risk. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical paper JEL Code(s): G, G1, G18, G2, G28, H, H6, H63 Research Theme(s): Financial markets and funds management, Funds management, Market functioning, Market structure, Financial system, Financial institutions and intermediation
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
Central Bank Crisis Interventions and the Term Structure of Market Fear Staff working paper 2026-17 Mattia Bevilacqua, Jon Danielsson, Lerby Ergun, Andreas Uthemann, Jean-Pierre Zigrand How do central bank crisis interventions calm market fears? Using options data, we measure the perceived risk of large asset price drops across horizons from two weeks to ten years. Studying the Fed's response to the 2020 turmoil, we find asset purchases reduce short-term fears while interest rate actions shape long-term expectations. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): C, C5, C58, E, E5, E58, G, G0, G01, G1, G12, G15 Research Theme(s): Financial markets and funds management, Market functioning, Financial system, Financial stability and systemic risk, Models and tools, Econometric, statistical and computational methods
Distributing Sovereign Debt in a Rising Debt Environment: Outcomes from Canada’s 2024 Debt Distribution Framework Review Staff analytical paper 2026-18 William Bradley, Jeffrey Gao This paper documents Canada’s recent review of its sovereign debt distribution framework (DDF). Informed by a context of record-high debt issuance since the previous DDF review, along with comparisons with sovereign peers and insights from market participants, the review identified an important need to broaden Canada’s dealer base internationally to support a larger and more diverse set of investors. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical paper JEL Code(s): G, G1, G18, G2, G28, H, H6, H63 Research Theme(s): Financial markets and funds management, Funds management, Market functioning, Market structure, Financial system, Financial institutions and intermediation
A buoy on funding tides: How client repo demand and dealer constraints lifted CORRA Staff analytical paper 2026-15 Jean-Sébastien Fontaine, Neil Maru, Sofia Tchamova Pressures on the CORRA benchmark can emerge from the interaction of client borrowing behavior, dealer balance sheet constraints, even if the level of settlement balances is in a range deemed sufficient to meet the requirement of the payment system and the prudential demand of its members. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical paper JEL Code(s): E, E5, E52, G, G2, G23 Research Theme(s): Financial markets and funds management, Market functioning, Monetary policy, Monetary policy tools and implementation