December 10, 2014 Cyber Security: Protecting the Resilience of Canada’s Financial System Financial System Review - December 2014 Harold Gallagher, Wade McMahon, Ron Morrow Harold Gallagher, Wade McMahon and Ron Morrow examine the various sources of cyber attacks and their potential for systemic risk. Against this background, the report highlights efforts being made to protect against cyber-security threats, including individual and collective actions by financial institutions and financial market infrastructures, as well as initiatives by international organizations, regulatory authorities and governments. The authors then describe the coordination, under the Joint Operational Resilience Management program, of private and public sector actions in Canada for managing and testing capabilities during severe operational events such as cyber attacks. Content Type(s): Publications, Financial System Review articles Research Topic(s): Financial stability, Financial system regulation and policies, Payment clearing and settlement systems JEL Code(s): G, G2, G20, G23, G28
Removal of the Unwinding Provisions in the Automated Clearing Settlement System: A Risk Assessment Staff Discussion Paper 2014-4 Nicholas Labelle, Varya Taylor A default in the Automated Clearing Settlement System (ACSS) occurs when a Direct Clearer is unable to settle its final obligation. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Research Topic(s): Financial stability, Payment clearing and settlement systems JEL Code(s): C, C1, C15, G, G0, G01, G2, G3
Optimal Margining and Margin Relief in Centrally Cleared Derivatives Markets Staff Working Paper 2014-29 Radoslav Raykov A major policy challenge posed by derivatives clearinghouses is that their collateral requirements can rise sharply in times of stress, reducing market liquidity and further exacerbating downturns. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Economic models, Payment clearing and settlement systems JEL Code(s): G, G1, G19, G2, G21
Improving Overnight Loan Identification in Payments Systems Staff Working Paper 2014-25 Mark Rempel Information on the allocation and pricing of over-the-counter (OTC) markets is scarce. Furfine (1999) pioneered an algorithm that provides transaction-level data on the OTC interbank lending market. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Econometric and statistical methods, Financial markets, Interest rates, Payment clearing and settlement systems JEL Code(s): C, C3, C38, C5, C53, E, E4, E42, E44, G, G1, G10
May 13, 2014 Understanding Platform-Based Digital Currencies Bank of Canada Review - Spring 2014 Ben Fung, Hanna Halaburda Given technological advances and the widespread use of the Internet, various digital currencies have emerged. In most cases, Internet platforms such as Facebook and Amazon restrict the functionality of their digital currencies to enhance the business model and maximize their profits. While platform-based digital currencies could increase the efficiency of retail payments, they could also raise some important policy issues if they were to become widely used outside of the platform. Thus, it is important to closely monitor the evolution of these digital currencies. Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles Research Topic(s): Bank notes, Digital currencies and fintech, Financial services, Payment clearing and settlement systems JEL Code(s): E, E4, E41, E42
E-Money: Efficiency, Stability and Optimal Policy Staff Working Paper 2014-16 Jonathan Chiu, Tsz-Nga Wong What makes e-money more special than cash? Is the introduction of e-money necessarily welfare enhancing? Is an e-money system necessarily stable? What is the optimal way to design an efficient and stable e-money scheme? Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Bank notes, Digital currencies and fintech, Payment clearing and settlement systems JEL Code(s): E, E4, E42, E5, E58, L, L5, L51
Electronic Money and Payments: Recent Developments and Issues Staff Discussion Paper 2014-2 Ben Fung, Miguel Molico, Gerald Stuber The authors review recent developments in retail payments in Canada and elsewhere, with a focus on e-money products, and assess their potential public policy implications. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Research Topic(s): Bank notes, Digital currencies and fintech, Financial services, Payment clearing and settlement systems JEL Code(s): E, E4, E41, E42
Some Economics of Private Digital Currency Staff Working Paper 2013-38 Joshua S. Gans, Hanna Halaburda This paper reviews some recent developments in digital currency, focusing on platform-sponsored currencies such as Facebook Credits. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Bank notes, Digital currencies and fintech, Economic models, Payment clearing and settlement systems JEL Code(s): D, D4, D42, E, E4, L, L5, L51
To Link or Not To Link? Netting and Exposures Between Central Counterparties Staff Working Paper 2013-6 Stacey Anderson, Jean-Philippe Dion, Héctor Pérez Saiz This paper provides a framework to compare linked and unlinked CCP configurations in terms of total netting achieved by market participants and the total system default exposures that exist between participants and CCPs. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Payment clearing and settlement systems JEL Code(s): G, G1, G18, G2, G23
On the Welfare Effects of Credit Arrangements Staff Working Paper 2012-43 Jonathan Chiu, Mei Dong, Enchuan Shao This paper studies the welfare effects of different credit arrangements and how these effects depend on the trading mechanism and inflation. In a competitive market, a deviation from the Friedman rule is always sub-optimal. Moreover, credit arrangements can be welfare-reducing, because increased consumption by credit users will drive up the price level so that money users have to reduce consumption when facing a binding liquidity restraint. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Credit and credit aggregates, Payment clearing and settlement systems JEL Code(s): E, E4, E40, E5, E50