This paper explores the determinants of regional differences in interest rates based on a simple theoretical model of loan pricing. The model demonstrates how risks, costs, market concentration and scale economies jointly determine the bank's interest rates. Using recent data of the Indonesian...

Credit risk models should reflect the observation that the relevant value of collateral is generally not the average value of the asset over all possible states of nature. In most cases, the relevant value of collateral for the lender is its secondary market value in bad states of nature, where...

This discussion paper led to a publication in the <A HREF="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jae.2358/abstract"><I>Journal of Applied Econometrics</I></A>, 2014, 29, pages 693-712.<P> Many economic studies on inflation forecasting have found favorable results when inflation is modeled as a stationary process around a slowly time-varying trend. In contrast, the existing...</p></i></a>

This paper has led to a publication in <I>Applied Financial Economics</I>, 2013, 23(9), 749-765.<P> This paper assesses the performance of a number of long-term interest rate forecast approaches, namely time series models, structural economic models, expert forecasts and combinations thereof. The...</p></i>

This discussion paper led to a publication in the 'Journal of Applied Econometrics'</I>, 2014, 29(1), 65-90.<P> We propose a new approach to the modelling of the term structure of interest rates. We consider the general dynamic factor model and show how to impose smoothness restrictions on the factor...</p>

Banks provide risky loans to firms which have superior information regarding the quality of their projects. Due to asymmetric information the banks face the risk of adverse selection. Credit Value-at-Risk (CVaR) regulation counters the problem of low quality, i.e. high risk, loans and therefore...

We forecast the term structure of U.S. Treasury zero-coupon bond yields by analyzing a range of models that have been used in the literature. We assess the relevance of parameter uncertainty by examining the added value of using Bayesian inference compared to frequentist estimation techniques,...

This discussion paper has resulted in a publication in the <I>Journal of Business and Economic Statistics<I>.<p>In this discussion paper we introduce time-varying parameters in the dynamic Nelson–Siegel yield curve model for the simultaneous analysis and forecasting of interest rates of different...</p></i></i>

Exchange rate returns are fat-tailed distributed. We provide evidence that the apparent non-normality derives from the behavior of macroeconomic fundamentals. Economic and probabilistic arguments are offered for such a relationship. Empirical support is given by testing against normality and...

This paper uses Reuters exchange rate data to investigate thecontributions to the price discovery process by individual banks in theforeign exchange market. We propose multivariate time series models aswell as models in tick time to study the dynamic relations between thequotes of individual...