Posts

• November 17, 2011

  The International Monetary System: An Assessment and Avenue for Reform

  Bank of Canada Review - Autumn 2011 Lawrence L. Schembri, Eric Santor

  The current international monetary system is in need of reform. This article first provides an assessment of the existing system, highlighting both its strengths and weaknesses. It notes that the system has not facilitated the symmetric and timely adjustment in the real exchange rate necessary to accommodate the integration of China and other emerging-market economies into the global economy. This lack of adjustment contributed to the global financial crisis and recession and, because it is forestalling the required rotation of global demand, is hindering the global recovery. The article then discusses reform of the system that would see all systemically important countries and currency areas adopt market-based and convertible floating exchange rates supported by appropriate monetary, fiscal and financial sector policy frameworks. It also examines the roles of the G-20 countries and major international financial institutions in promoting and facilitating the system’s transition.

  Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles Topic(s): Exchange rate regimes, International topics
• November 17, 2011

  Bank of Canada Review - Autumn 2011

  

  This issue features four articles that present research and analysis by Bank staff. The first focuses on reforming the international monetary system; the second on the role of collateral and haircut policy in central bank lending; and the third on the extraction of information from the Business Outlook Survey using principal-component analysis. The fourth reviews studies that model the counterfeiting of bank notes.

  Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review

• What Matters in Determining Capital Surcharges for Systemically Important Financial Institutions?

  Staff Discussion Paper 2011-9 Céline Gauthier, Toni Gravelle, Xuezhi Liu, Moez Souissi

  One way of internalizing the externalities that each individual bank imposes on the rest of the financial system is to impose capital surcharges on them in line with their systemic importance.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Topic(s): Financial system regulation and policies JEL Code(s): C, C1, C15, C8, C81, E, E4, E44, G, G0, G01, G2, G21
• November 17, 2011

  Liquidity Provision and Collateral Haircuts in Payments Systems

  Bank of Canada Review - Autumn 2011 James Chapman, Jonathan Chiu, Miguel Molico

  Central banks play a pivotal role in well-functioning payments systems by providing liquidity via collateralized lending. This article discusses the role of collateral and haircut policy in central bank lending, as well as the distinguishing features of the central bank’s policy relative to private sector practices. It presents a model that explicitly incorporates the unique role of central banks in the payments system and argues that central banks must consider how their haircut policies affect the relative price and liquidity of assets, the market’s asset allocation, and the likelihood of participants to default. Furthermore, under extraordinary circumstances, there is a rationale for the central bank to temporarily reduce haircuts or broaden the list of eligible collateral to mitigate the shortage of liquidity in the market.

  Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles Topic(s): Central bank research, Financial stability, Payment clearing and settlement systems
• November 17, 2011

  Extracting Information from the Business Outlook Survey: A Principal-Component Approach

  Bank of Canada Review - Autumn 2011 Lise Pichette, Lori Rennison

  This article reviews recent work that uses principal-component analysis to extract information common to indicators from the Bank of Canada’s Business Outlook Survey (BOS). The authors use correlation analysis and an out-of-sample forecasting exercise to assess and compare the information content of the principal component with that of responses to key individual survey questions on growth in real gross domestic product and in real business investment. Results suggest that summarizing the common movements among BOS indicators may provide useful information for forecasting near-term growth in business investment. For growth in real gross domestic product, however, the survey’s balance of opinion on future sales growth appears to be more informative.

  Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles Topic(s): Business fluctuations and cycles, Regional economic developments
• November 17, 2011

  Modelling the Counterfeiting of Bank Notes: A Literature Review

  Bank of Canada Review - Autumn 2011 Ben Fung, Enchuan Shao

  The objective of this article is to improve our understanding of counterfeiting and its policy implications by reviewing research in this area. There has been almost no empirical work on counterfeiting because of the limited availability of counterfeiting data and related statistics. The authors therefore focus on theoretical studies that directly model the behaviour of the relevant economic agents. They first establish some stylized facts about counterfeiting to provide a general understanding of the problem. They then briefly review several models of counterfeiting and summarize their relevant insights, focusing on the implications of the findings for the incentive to counterfeit, social welfare and anti-counterfeiting policies. The authors find that the policy implications of these studies support the Bank’s comprehensive anti-counterfeiting strategy.

  Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles Topic(s): Bank notes
• November 17, 2011

  New Developments in Payments and Settlement

  Conference held on 17 and 18 November 2011 (papers in unedited, electronic format only)

  Content Type(s): Conferences and workshops
• November 16, 2011

  Debt Management Strategy Consultations - 2012-13

  The Department of Finance and the Bank of Canada are seeking views of government securities distributors, institutional investors, and other interested parties on issues related to the design and operation of the Government of Canada’s domestic debt program for 2012-13 and beyond.

  Content Type(s): Press, Market notices
• November 14, 2011

  Bank Note Launch

  Remarks Mark Carney MaRS Discovery District Toronto, Ontario

  Governor Mark Carney announces the launch of the new $100 bank note.

  Content Type(s): Press, Speeches and appearances, Remarks Topic(s): Bank notes
• November 14, 2011

  Bank of Canada Issues $100 Bill – First Canadian Polymer Bank Note

  Media Relations Ottawa, Ontario

  The Bank of Canada today began circulating the new $100 bill – Canada’s first polymer bank note. This new note will be available at financial institutions from coast to coast to coast over the next few weeks. The $100 note features a portrait of Sir Robert Borden, Prime Minister of Canada between 1911 and 1920, […]

  Content Type(s): Press, Press releases Topic(s): Bank notes