The Optimum Quantity of Central Bank Reserves Staff Working Paper 2025-15 Jonathan Witmer This paper analyzes the optimal quantity of central bank reserves in an economy where reserves and other financial assets provide liquidity benefits. Using a static model, I derive a constrained Friedman rule that characterizes the socially optimal level of reserves, demonstrating that this quantity is neither necessarily large nor small but depends on the marginal benefits of reserves relative to alternative safe assets. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Financial institutions, Financial markets, Financial system regulation and policies, Monetary policy implementation JEL Code(s): E, E4, E41, E42, E5, E58, G, G2, G21, G28
January 16, 2025 Back to normal for the balance sheet Speech summary Toni Gravelle VersaFi (formerly Women in Capital Markets) Toronto, Ontario Deputy Governor Toni Gravelle provides an update on when quantitative tightening will end and explains how the Bank of Canada will manage its balance sheet going forward. Content Type(s): Press, Speeches and appearances, Speech summaries Research Topic(s): Financial institutions, Financial markets, Financial stability, Financial system regulation and policies, Market structure and pricing, Monetary policy implementation, Monetary policy transmission, Recent economic and financial developments
January 16, 2025 The end of quantitative tightening and what comes next Remarks Toni Gravelle VersaFi (formerly Women in Capital Markets) Toronto, Ontario Deputy Governor Toni Gravelle provides an update on when quantitative tightening will end and how the Bank of Canada will manage its balance sheet after that. Content Type(s): Press, Speeches and appearances, Remarks Research Topic(s): Financial institutions, Financial markets, Financial stability, Financial system regulation and policies, Market structure and pricing, Monetary policy implementation, Monetary policy transmission, Recent economic and financial developments
CORRA: Explaining the rise in volumes and resulting upward pressure Staff Analytical Note 2024-21 Boran Plong, Neil Maru On May 27, 2024, the settlement period for trading GoC bonds in the secondary market in Canada moved from two days to one. This shortened time for settling secondary cash bond trades caused CORRA volumes to rise significantly, and they have remained elevated since. This combined with the skew in demand for funding has pressured CORRA higher. We find no indications that any other factors are contributing to the most recent pressures on CORRA. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes Research Topic(s): Financial markets, Interest rates, Monetary policy implementation JEL Code(s): D, D4, D5, D53, E, E4, E43, E44, E5, E52, G, G1, G12
March 21, 2024 Getting to a new normal Speech summary Toni Gravelle CFA Society Toronto Toronto, Ontario Deputy Governor Toni Gravelle speaks about how the Bank of Canada will manage its balance sheet once quantitative tightening ends. Content Type(s): Press, Speeches and appearances, Speech summaries Research Topic(s): Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Financial institutions, Financial markets, Financial system regulation and policies, Lender of last resort, Monetary policy implementation, Payment clearing and settlement systems, Recent economic and financial developments
March 21, 2024 Going back to normal: The Bank of Canada’s balance sheet after quantitative tightening Remarks Toni Gravelle CFA Society Toronto Toronto, Ontario Deputy Governor Toni Gravelle provides an update on quantitative tightening and talks about how the Bank of Canada will manage its balance sheet once normalization ends. Content Type(s): Press, Speeches and appearances, Remarks Research Topic(s): Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Financial institutions, Financial markets, Financial system regulation and policies, Lender of last resort, Monetary policy implementation, Payment clearing and settlement systems, Recent economic and financial developments
What has been putting upward pressure on CORRA? Staff Analytical Note 2024-4 Boran Plong, Neil Maru From the autumn of 2023 into early 2024, the Canadian Overnight Repo Rate Average (CORRA), a measure of the cost of overnight general collateral Canadian dollar repos, was consistently well above the Bank’s target for the overnight rate. We find that, among several factors, long bond positions that require repo financing are the main driver of the recent upward pressure on CORRA. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes Research Topic(s): Financial markets, Interest rates, Lender of last resort, Monetary policy implementation JEL Code(s): D, D4, D5, D53, E, E4, E43, E44, E5, E52, G, G1, G12
February 6, 2024 Monetary policy: It’s perfectly imperfect Speech summary Tiff Macklem Montreal Council on Foreign Relations Montréal, Quebec Governor Tiff Macklem speaks about the effectiveness—and limitations—of monetary policy. He highlights how raising and lowering the policy interest rate ultimately keeps inflation low, stable and predictable, despite significant shocks to the economy. Content Type(s): Press, Speeches and appearances, Speech summaries Research Topic(s): Housing, Inflation targets, Inflation: costs and benefits, Interest rates, Monetary policy, Monetary policy implementation, Monetary policy transmission, Price stability, Productivity
February 6, 2024 Monetary policy: The right tool for the right job Remarks Tiff Macklem Montreal Council on Foreign Relations Montréal, Quebec Governor Tiff Macklem discusses how monetary policy is working to bring inflation down—and how it has worked to return inflation to target over the last 25 years. He also talks about the limits of monetary policy, and why the right focus is on controlling inflation in the medium term. Content Type(s): Press, Speeches and appearances, Remarks Research Topic(s): Housing, Inflation targets, Inflation: costs and benefits, Interest rates, Monetary policy, Monetary policy implementation, Monetary policy transmission, Price stability, Productivity
Estimating the Appropriate Quantity of Settlement Balances in a Floor System Staff Discussion Paper 2023-26 Narayan Bulusu, Matthew McNeely, Kaetlynd McRae, Jonathan Witmer This paper presents two complementary approaches to estimating the appropriate quantity of settlement balances needed to effectively operate monetary policy under a floor system in Canada. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Research Topic(s): Financial institutions, Financial markets, Financial system regulation and policies, Monetary policy implementation, Payment clearing and settlement systems JEL Code(s): E, E4, E41, E42, E5, E52, E58, G, G2, G21, G28