Financial system regulation and policies
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Reaching for yield or resiliency? Explaining the shift in Canadian pension plan portfolios
“Reach for yield”—This is the commonly heard explanation for why pension plans shift their portfolios toward alternative assets. But we show that the new portfolios also hold more bonds, offer lower average returns and produce smaller and less volatile solvency deficits. These shifts are part of a broader strategy to reduce solvency risk. -
Stressed but not Helpless: Strategic Behaviour of Banks Under Adverse Market Conditions
Our stress-testing tool considers banks under stress that can strategically manage their balance sheets. Using confidential Canadian supervisory data, we assess whether bank behaviour to maximize shareholder value can amplify a hypothetical stress scenario. -
An Optimal Macroprudential Policy Mix for Segmented Credit Markets
How can macroprudential policy and monetary policy stabilize segmented credit markets? Is there a trade-off between financial stability and price stability? I use a theoretical model to evaluate the performance of alternative policies and find the optimal mix of macroprudential and monetary policy in response to aggregate shocks. -
Bank Runs, Bank Competition and Opacity
How is the stability of the financial sector affected by competition in the deposit market and by decisions banks make about transparency? We find that policies that aim to increase bank competition lead to higher bank deposit rates, increasing both withdrawal incentives and instability. -
Can regulating bank capital help prevent and mitigate financial downturns?
Countercyclical capital buffers are regulatory measures developed in response to the global financial crisis of 2008–09. This note focuses on how time-varying capital buffers can improve financial stability in Canada -
May 20, 2021
Release of the Financial System Review
Press conference following the release of the Financial System Review. -
Optimal Monetary and Macroprudential Policies
Macroprudential policy should aim for bank balance sheets that are larger and safer during normal times but smaller and riskier during financial crises. During recoveries from financial crises, monetary policy should complement macroprudential policy by being less expansive than what would be required to close the labour gap. -
Stablecoin Assessment Framework
We offer relevant authorities a three-step assessment framework they can use to understand, identify and quantify the risks associated with stablecoin and other cryptocurrency arrangements. -
March 23, 2021
Supporting markets in tough times
Deputy Governor Toni Gravelle talks about actions the Bank of Canada took to make sure financial markets could work smoothly during the COVID-19 pandemic. He also discusses the Bank’s plans to discontinue some programs.