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. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes JEL Code(s): D, D4, D47, D5, D53, G, G0, G01, G1, G12, G13, G14, G2, G21, G23 Research Theme(s): Financial markets and funds management, Market functioning, Market structure, Financial system, Financial stability and systemic risk
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. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes JEL Code(s): D, D4, D47, D5, D53, G, G1, G12, G2, G23 Research Theme(s): Financial markets and funds management, Market functioning, Market structure, Financial system, Financial stability and systemic risk
Markups and Inflation in Oligopolistic Markets: Evidence from Wholesale Price Data Staff working paper 2024-20 Patrick Alexander, Lu Han, Oleksiy Kryvtsov, Ben Tomlin We study how the interaction of market power and nominal price rigidity influences inflation dynamics. We find that pass-through declines with price stickiness when markets are concentrated, which implies a lower slope of the New Keynesian Phillips curve. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): D, D4, D43, E, E3, E31, L, L1, L13, L8, L81 Research Theme(s): Financial markets and funds management, Market structure, Monetary policy, Inflation dynamics and pressures
Digital Payments in Firm Networks: Theory of Adoption and Quantum Algorithm Staff working paper 2024-17 Sofia Priazhkina, Samuel Palmer, Pablo Martín-Ramiro, Román Orús, Samuel Mugel, Vladimir Skavysh We build a network formation game of firms with trade flows to study the adoption and usage of a new digital currency as an alternative to correspondent banking. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): C, C6, C7, C71, D, D4, D8, D85, G, L, L2, L22 Research Theme(s): Models and tools, Economic models, Money and payments, Digital assets and fintech, Payment and financial market infrastructures
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. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes JEL Code(s): D, D4, D47, D5, D53, G, G1, G12, G14, G2, G23 Research Theme(s): Financial markets and funds management, Market functioning, Financial system, Financial institutions and intermediation, Financial stability and systemic risk
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 JEL Code(s): D, D4, D5, D53, E, E4, E43, E44, E5, E52, G, G1, G12 Research Theme(s): Financial markets and funds management, Market functioning, Financial system, Financial institutions and intermediation, Monetary policy, Monetary policy tools and implementation
Intermediary Market Power and Capital Constraints Staff working paper 2023-51 Jason Allen, Milena Wittwer We examine how intermediary capitalization affects asset prices in a framework that allows for intermediary market power. We introduce a model in which capital-constrained intermediaries buy or trade an asset in an imperfectly competitive market, and we show that weaker capital constraints lead to both higher prices and intermediary markups. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): D, D4, D40, D44, G, G1, G12, G18, G2, G20, L, L1, L10 Research Theme(s): Financial markets and funds management, Funds management, Market functioning, Market structure, Financial system, Financial institutions and intermediation
Flagship Entry in Online Marketplaces Staff working paper 2023-41 Ginger Zhe Jin, Zhentong Lu, Xiaolu Zhou, Lu Fang In this paper, we empirically study how flagship entry in an online marketplace affects consumers, the platform, and various sellers on the platform. We find flagship entry may benefit consumers by expanding the choice set, by intensifying price competition within the entry brand, and by improving consumer perception for parts of the platform. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): D, D4, L, L1, L8 Research Theme(s): Financial markets and funds management, Market structure, Structural challenges, Digitalization and productivity
The contribution of firm profits to the recent rise in inflation Staff analytical note 2023-12 Panagiotis Bouras, Christian Bustamante, Xing Guo, Jacob Short We measure the contribution to inflation from the growth in markups of Canadian firms. The dynamics of inflation and markups suggest that changes in markups could account for less than one-tenth of inflation in 2021. Further, they suggest that peak inflation was driven primarily by changes in the costs of firms. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes JEL Code(s): D, D2, D22, D4, E, E3, E31, L, L1, L11 Research Theme(s): Financial markets and funds management, Market functioning, Monetary policy, Inflation dynamics and pressures
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. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes JEL Code(s): D, D4, D47, D5, D53, G, G1, G12, G14, G2, G23 Research Theme(s): Financial markets and funds management, Market functioning, Financial system, Financial institutions and intermediation, Financial stability and systemic risk