In this paper we compare the Keynesian, neoclassical and Austrian explanations for low interest rates and sluggish growth. From a Keynesian and neoclassical perspective low interest rates are attributed to ageing societies, which save more for the future (global savings glut). Low growth is...

Several developing economies witnessed a large number of systemic financial and currency crises since the 1980s which resulted in severe economic, social, and political problems. The devastating impact of the 1982 and 1994-95 Mexican crises, the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis, the 1998 Russian...

This paper proposes a macro-prudential financial soundness analysis that can be used by most developing and transformation countries with or without crisis experience as well as by developed countries with limited data. The objective is to detect economic and financial sector vulnerability,...

Governors and senior officials representing some two dozen central banks from Africa and other regions of the world met at the BIS in May 2011 to discuss the monetary policy and financial stability issues facing Africa after the global financial crisis. This volume brings together the background...

In the aftermath of the global financial crisis, the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT) designed and adopted a policy mix where reserve requirements, an asymmetric interest rate corridor and a reserve options mechanism (ROM) were used alongside the policy rate to reduce the negative...

The European Central Bank (ECB) took many measures to combat the eurozone's rolling financial crisis. For providing desperately scarce dollars to eurozone banks, the ECB relied on the U.S. Federal Reserve. Using a novel econometric framework, we identify financial markets' response to the...

This note discusses FX reserves management as practised by emerging market economies and, more specifically, by Saudi Arabia. It shares the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority's experience on reserve adequacy, investment objectives, philosophy and process, portfolio tranching, risk management and...

We analyze the effect of negative monetary policy rates on banks, using detailed supervisory information from Switzerland. For identification, we compare changes in the behavior of banks that had different fractions of their central bank reserves exempt from negative rates. More affected banks...