We assess the extent to which capital buffers (the capital banks hold in excess of the regulatory minimum) exacerbate rather than reduce the cyclical behavior of credit. We empirically study the relationships between output gap, capital buffers and loan growth with firm-level data for French...

We analyze the risk-taking behavior of heterogenous intermediaries that are protected by limited liability and choose both their amount of leverage and the risk exposure of their portfolio. Due to the opacity of the financial sector, outside providers of funds cannot distinguish “prudent”...

We propose a rigorous and flexible methodological framework to select and calibrate initial shocks to be used in bank stress test scenarios based on statistical techniques for detecting outliers in time series of risk factors. Our approach allows us to characterize not only the magnitude, but...

The SRISK measure is advertised as measuring the recapitalization needed by a financial institution in the event of a financial crisis. It is computed from the estimated reaction of the institution’s share price in the event of a sharp drop in market prices. This indicator relies both on an...

This paper studies the scope for cross-border contagion in the European banking sector using true bilateral exposure data. Using a model of sequential solvency and liquidity cascades in networks, we analyze geographical patterns of loss propagation from 2008 to 2012. We study the distribution of...

This paper presents the main features of macroprudential policy with a focus on the French case. We first recall the ultimate objective of this policy, which is to prevent and to mitigate systemic risk, i.e. the risk of “widespread disruptions to the provision of financial services that have...

What influences banks’ borrowing costs in the unsecured money market? The objective of this paper is to test whether measures of centrality, quantifying network effects due to interactions among banks in the market, can help explain heterogeneous patterns in the interest rates paid to borrow...

This article analyses the dispersion of risk weights for large corporate portfolios and identifies the sources of dispersion among banks in terms of the Basel risk parameters. The analysis focuses on loans granted by 5 large French banking groups to large corporates operating in France and rated...

We study the real effect on banks’ credit supply after a negative liquidity shock. Controlling for demand effects, we take advantage of the exogenous international interbank market freeze in 2007-2008 to assess the causal relation between French banks’ liquidity risk and their lending. We...

We investigate the consequences of banks' liquidity hoarding behaviour for the stability of the financial system by proposing a new model of banking contagion through two channels, bilateral exposures and funding shortage. Inspired by the key role of liquidity hoarding in the 2007-2009 financial...