Financial stability

• Do Sunspots Matter? Evidence from an Experimental Study of Bank Runs

  Staff Working Paper 2014-12 Jasmina Arifovic, Janet Hua Jiang

  A "sunspot" is a variable that has no direct impact on the economy’s fundamental condition, such as preferences, endowments or technologies, but may nonetheless affect economic outcomes through the expectations channel as a coordination device. This paper investigates how people react to sunspots in the context of a bank-run game in a controlled laboratory environment.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Financial markets, Financial stability JEL Code(s): C, C9, C91, C92, D, D8, D80, E, E5, E58, G, G2, G20

• Rollover Risk and the Maturity Transformation Function of Banks

  Staff Working Paper 2014-8 Teodora Paligorova, João Santos

  This paper shows that banks that rely heavily on short-term funding engage less in maturity transformation in an attempt to decrease their exposure to rollover risk. These banks shorten both the maturity of their portfolio of loans as well as the maturity of newly issued loans. We find that the loan yield curve becomes steeper with banks’ increasing use of short-term funding.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Financial stability JEL Code(s): G, G2, G21
• March 3, 2014

  Household Spending and Debt

  Highlights the value of ‘prudent’ borrowing in enhancing welfare, but also the risks of over-indebtedness for households, the economy and financial stability. Discusses trends in household debt, various debt metrics and why monetary policy is concerned with how households use borrowed funds.

  Content Type(s): Explainers Topic(s): Financial stability