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 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
June 12, 2014 Stress Testing the Canadian Banking System: A System-Wide Approach Financial System Review - June 2014 Kartik Anand, Guillaume Bédard-Pagé, Virginie Traclet Stress testing is an important tool used by financial authorities and entities around the world to evaluate potential risks to the financial system. Kartik Anand, Guillaume Bédard-Pagé and Virginie Traclet discuss different stress-testing approaches, with emphasis on the innovative and analytically rigorous model developed by the Bank of Canada: the MacroFinancial Risk Assessment Framework (MFRAF). They also present the stress-test results obtained in the context of the 2013 Canada Financial Sector Assessment Program led by the International Monetary Fund, including the important contributions made by the use of MFRAF in the exercise. Content Type(s): Publications, Financial System Review articles Topic(s): Financial institutions, Financial stability JEL Code(s): C, C6, C63, G, G0, G01, G2, G21
June 12, 2014 Reforming Financial Benchmarks: An International Perspective Financial System Review - June 2014 Thomas Thorn, Harri Vikstedt Thomas Thorn and Harri Vikstedt examine the efforts being taken internationally and in Canada to enhance the governance and integrity of financial benchmarks. The report provides an overview of how interbank interest rate benchmarks are set and describes the weaknesses in the process that were exposed by the financial crisis. It also explains recent policy developments designed to make global and Canadian interbank benchmarks more robust. Content Type(s): Publications, Financial System Review articles Topic(s): Financial markets, Financial system regulation and policies, Recent economic and financial developments JEL Code(s): G, G1, G11
June 12, 2014 Making Banks Safer: Implementing Basel III Financial System Review - June 2014 Éric Chouinard, Graydon Paulin Éric Chouinard and Graydon Paulin review the progress to date in implementing Basel III, the new framework of global regulatory standards for the banking sector developed by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision. The report highlights the expected net benefits of implementing Basel III, as well as the challenges in ensuring international consistency in measuring the risk-weighted capital of banks. It includes a discussion on how implementing Basel III has affected the banking system in Canada and other important jurisdictions, and demonstrates the need for ongoing assessment of the effects on the financial system and the macroeconomy. Content Type(s): Publications, Financial System Review articles Topic(s): Financial institutions, Financial system regulation and policies JEL Code(s): G, G2, G28
Rollover Risk, Liquidity and Macroprudential Regulation Staff Working Paper 2014-23 Toni Ahnert I study rollover risk in the wholesale funding market when intermediaries can hold liquidity ex ante and are subject to fire sales ex post. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Financial institutions, Financial system regulation and policies JEL Code(s): G, G0, G01, G1, G11, G2, G28
Monetary Policy Transmission during Financial Crises: An Empirical Analysis Staff Working Paper 2014-21 Tatjana Dahlhaus This paper studies the effects of a monetary policy expansion in the United States during times of high financial stress. The analysis is carried out by introducing a smooth transition factor model where the transition between states (“normal” and high financial stress) depends on a financial conditions index. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Econometric and statistical methods, Financial markets, Monetary policy transmission JEL Code(s): C, C1, C11, C3, C32, E, E3, E32, E4, E44, G, G0, G01
May 13, 2014 The Canadian Dollar as a Reserve Currency Bank of Canada Review - Spring 2014 Lukasz Pomorski, Francisco Rivadeneyra, Eric Wolfe This article provides an overview of the growth of Canadian-dollar-denominated assets in official foreign reserves. Based on International Monetary Fund data and on internal Bank of Canada analysis, we estimate that the total reserve holdings of Canadian-dollar assets increased from negligible levels before 2008 to around US$200 billion in the third quarter of 2013. We discuss the determinants of this increase, as well as its potential impact on Canadian debt markets, for example, lower yields and therefore reduced financing costs for the Government of Canada, and the possible negative impact on market liquidity. Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles Topic(s): Central bank research, Foreign reserves management, Recent economic and financial developments JEL Code(s): E, E5, E58, F, F3, F31, G, G1, G12
High-Frequency Trading Competition Staff Working Paper 2014-19 Jonathan Brogaard, Corey Garriott, Anna Pomeranets We analyze trading dynamics as successive high-frequency trading (HFT) firms begin to trade stocks in an equity market. Entrants compete with incumbents for volume, and there is crowding out. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Financial markets, Market structure and pricing JEL Code(s): G, G1, G14, G2, G20, L, L1
Interest on Cash, Fundamental Value Process and Bubble Formation on Experimental Asset Markets Staff Working Paper 2014-18 Giovanni Giusti, Janet Hua Jiang, Yiping Xu We study the formation of price bubbles on experimental asset markets where cash earns interest. There are two main conclusions. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Asset pricing, Financial markets, Financial stability JEL Code(s): C, C9, C90, G, G1, G10
Uncertain Costs and Vertical Differentiation in an Insurance Duopoly Staff Working Paper 2014-14 Radoslav Raykov Classical oligopoly models predict that firms differentiate vertically as a way of softening price competition, but some metrics suggest very little quality differentiation in the U.S. auto insurance market. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Economic models, Market structure and pricing JEL Code(s): D, D4, D43, D8, D81, G, G2, G22, L, L2, L22