Financial institutions

• Estimating the Appropriate Quantity of Settlement Balances in a Floor System

  Staff Discussion Paper 2023-26 Narayan Bulusu, Matthew McNeely, Kaetlynd McRae, Jonathan Witmer

  This paper presents two complementary approaches to estimating the appropriate quantity of settlement balances needed to effectively operate monetary policy under a floor system in Canada.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Topic(s): Financial institutions, Financial markets, Financial system regulation and policies, Monetary policy implementation, Payment clearing and settlement systems JEL Code(s): E, E4, E41, E42, E5, E52, E58, G, G2, G21, G28

• Three things we learned about the Lynx payment system

  Staff Analytical Note 2023-14 Nikil Chande, Zhentong Lu, Hiru Rodrigo, Phoebe Tian

  Canada transitioned to a new wholesale payment system, Lynx, in August 2021. Lynx is based on a real-time settlement model that eliminates credit risk in the system. This model can require more liquidity; however, Lynx’s design allows Canada’s wholesale payments to settle efficiently.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes Topic(s): Financial institutions, Financial services, Financial system regulation and policies, Payment clearing and settlement systems JEL Code(s): C, C1, C10, E, E4, E42, G, G2, G28

• 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 Topic(s): Financial institutions, Market structure and pricing JEL Code(s): D, D4, D40, D44, G, G1, G12, G18, G2, G20, L, L1, L10

• Monetary Policy Transmission, Bank Market Power, and Wholesale Funding Reliance

  Staff Working Paper 2023-35 Amina Enkhbold

  I study how banking market concentration and reliance on wholesale funding affect monetary policy transmission to mortgage rates. I find that this transmission is imperfect and dampens the response of consumption, output, and housing prices.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Financial institutions, Inflation targets, Monetary policy transmission, Wholesale funding JEL Code(s): E, E4, E44, E5, E52, G, G2, G21
• May 18, 2023

  Release of the Financial System Review

  Opening statement Tiff Macklem, Carolyn Rogers Ottawa, Ontario

  Press conference following the release of the Financial System Review.

  Content Type(s): Press, Speeches and appearances, Opening statements Topic(s): Financial institutions, Financial markets, Financial stability, Financial system regulation and policies, Interest rates, International financial markets, Recent economic and financial developments, Wholesale funding
• May 4, 2023

  Getting inflation back to 2%

  Speech summary Tiff Macklem Toronto Region Board of Trade Toronto, Ontario

  Governor Tiff Macklem explains that higher interest rates are working to slow inflation but warns that getting all the way back to the 2% target may take time. He also discusses the recent stress in the global banking sector and how financial stability and price stability work together.

  Content Type(s): Press, Speeches and appearances, Speech summaries Topic(s): Expectations, Financial institutions, Financial stability, Financial system regulation and policies, Inflation and prices, Inflation targets, International financial markets, Monetary policy, Price stability, Service sector

• How Banks Create Gridlock to Save Liquidity in Canada's Large Value Payment System

  Staff Working Paper 2023-26 Rodney J. Garratt, Zhentong Lu, Phoebe Tian

  We show how participants in Canada’s new high-value payment system save liquidity by exploiting the new gridlock resolution arrangement. The findings have important implications for the design of these systems and shed light on financial institutions’ liquidity preference.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Financial institutions, Payment clearing and settlement systems JEL Code(s): E, E4, E42, E5, E58, G, G2, G21
• May 4, 2023

  Staying the course to price stability

  Remarks Tiff Macklem Toronto Region Board of Trade Toronto, Ontario

  Governor Tiff Macklem explains how monetary policy is working to bring inflation down and outlines the challenges ahead. He also discusses recent stress in the global banking sector and how financial stability and price stability interact.

  Content Type(s): Press, Speeches and appearances, Remarks Topic(s): Expectations, Financial institutions, Financial stability, Financial system regulation and policies, Inflation and prices, Inflation targets, International financial markets, Monetary policy, Price stability, Service sector

• From LVTS to Lynx: Quantitative Assessment of Payment System Transition

  Staff Working Paper 2023-24 Ajit Desai, Zhentong Lu, Hiru Rodrigo, Jacob Sharples, Phoebe Tian, Nellie Zhang

  We quantitatively assess the changes in participants’ payment behaviour from modernizing Canada's high-value payments system to Lynx. Our analysis suggests that Lynx's liquidity-saving mechanism encourages liquidity pooling and early payments submission, resulting in improved efficiency for participants but with slightly increased payment delays.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Financial institutions, Financial services, Financial system regulation and policies, Payment clearing and settlement systems JEL Code(s): C, C1, C10, E, E4, E42, G, G2, G28

• The Role of Intermediaries in Selection Markets: Evidence from Mortgage Lending

  Staff Working Paper 2023-12 Jason Allen, Robert Clark, Jean-François Houde, Shaoteng Li, Anna Trubnikova

  This paper looks at the role mortgage brokers play in helping borrowers generate quotes and qualify for credit. We find that, on average, borrowers that engage with a mortgage broker pay lower interest rates. However, in about 15% of cases, borrowers are steered towards longer amortizing mortgages than they would have chosen absent a broker. Since mortgages with longer amortization have higher total interest costs over the entire life of the mortgage, this steering is expensive.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Financial institutions, Financial services, Market structure and pricing JEL Code(s): D, D4, G, G2, G21, L, L2