Foreign reserves management

• November 19, 2015

  Recent Enhancements to the Management of Canada’s Foreign Exchange Reserves

  Bank of Canada Review - Autumn 2015 Mervin Merkowsky, Eric Wolfe

  As the size and complexity of the foreign exchange reserves have grown over the years, enhancements to the management framework needed to keep pace. This is a common theme for most reserve managers around the world. In Canada, the enhancements focused on governance, portfolio management, risk measurement and risk management. This article briefly describes these enhancements, why they were implemented and some of the lessons learned along the way.

  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
• May 14, 2015

  The “Bank” at the Bank of Canada

  Bank of Canada Review - Spring 2015 Thérèse Couture, Christian Bélisle

  In this article, we describe the various types of banking services (payments, settlement and safekeeping) that the Bank of Canada provides to different types of clients (the Government of Canada, financial market infrastructures, financial institutions, foreign central banks and the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation). We also explain the reasons the Bank provides these services and how this role supports its core mandates, in particular financial stability. Finally, we explore the factors driving the growth and evolution in the provision of these banking services.

  Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles Topic(s): Financial services, Foreign reserves management, Payment clearing and settlement systems JEL Code(s): E, E5, E50, G, G2, G20
• 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
• May 16, 2013

  Modelling the Asset-Allocation and Liability Strategy for Canada’s Foreign Exchange Reserves

  Bank of Canada Review - Spring 2013 Francisco Rivadeneyra, Jianjian Jin, Narayan Bulusu, Lukasz Pomorski

  The Bank of Canada recently developed an asset-liability-matching model to aid in the management of Canada’s foreign exchange reserves. The model allows policy-makers at the Bank and the Department of Finance to analyze asset-allocation and funding-mix decisions by quantifying both the risk-return and liquidity trade-offs for the assets, as well as the risk-cost trade-offs of the funding liabilities.

  Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles Topic(s): Debt management, Foreign reserves management JEL Code(s): F, F3, F31, G, G1, G11, G18

• A Model of the EFA Liabilities

  Staff Discussion Paper 2011-11 Francisco Rivadeneyra, Oumar Dissou

  The authors describe the liabilities model of the Exchange Fund Account (EFA). The EFA is managed using an asset-liability matching framework that requires currency and duration matching of both sides of the balance sheet.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Topic(s): Debt management, Foreign reserves management JEL Code(s): G, G1, G12, G3, G32

• Liquidity, Risk, and Return: Specifying an Objective Function for the Management of Foreign Reserves

  Staff Discussion Paper 2010-13 Yuliya Romanyuk

  An objective function is a key component of a strategic portfolio management model used to determine the optimal allocations of assets and, possibly, their associated liabilities over some investment horizon.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Topic(s): Foreign reserves management JEL Code(s): G, G1, G11

• Asset-Liability Management: An Overview

  Staff Discussion Paper 2010-10 Yuliya Romanyuk

  Relevant literature on asset-liability management (ALM) is reviewed and different ALM approaches are discussed that may be of interest to the Bank of Canada for the purpose of modelling the Exchange Fund Account (EFA).

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Topic(s): Foreign reserves management JEL Code(s): G, G1, G11