Bio

Rishi Vala is an Economist in the Financial Markets Department at the Bank of Canada. His research focuses on the financial stability implications of different non-bank financial institutions.


Staff analytical notes

Could all-to-all trading improve liquidity in the Government of Canada bond market?

Staff Analytical Note 2024-17 Jabir Sandhu, Rishi Vala
We find that on any given day, nearly half of Government of Canada bond transactions by clients of dealers can be offset with other clients, including during the turmoil in March 2020. Our results show that under certain conditions clients could potentially trade directly with each other and are a step towards understanding the relevance of broader all-to-all trading in the Government of Canada bond market.

How big is cash-futures basis trading in Canada’s government bond market?

Staff Analytical Note 2024-16 Andreas Uthemann, Rishi Vala
Cash-futures basis trading has grown alongside the Government of Canada bond futures market. We examine this growth over time in relation to Government of Canada bond and repurchase agreement markets and provide details on the type of market participants that engage in this type of trading activity.

Liquidity risks at Canadian life insurance companies

Staff Analytical Note 2024-7 Patrick Aldridge, Stephane Gignac, Rishi Vala, Adrian Walton
We examine how life insurers manage liquidity risks created by their business model. We find that Canadian life insurers did not face significant liquidity draws and continued their usual investment behaviour during the COVID-19 crisis and as interest rates increased in 2022.

Do hedge funds support liquidity in the Government of Canada bond market?

Staff Analytical Note 2023-11 Jabir Sandhu, Rishi Vala
While Government of Canada bond transactions of hedge funds are typically in the opposite direction to those of other market participants, during the peak period of market turmoil in March 2020, hedge funds sold these bonds, just as other market participants did. This shows that hedge funds can at times contribute to one-sided markets and amplify declines in market liquidity.

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Staff discussion papers

Central Bank Crisis Interventions: A Review of the Recent Literature on Potential Costs

Staff Discussion Paper 2023-30 Patrick Aldridge, David Cimon, Rishi Vala
Central banks’ actions to stabilize financial markets and implement monetary policy during crises may come with costs and side effects. We provide a literature review of these costs and discuss measures that may mitigate the negative impacts of crisis actions.

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