The typical portrait of monetary policy has the banks and the money supply being manipulated through changes in bank reserves. However, with only a small portion of bank deposits now subject to reserve requirements, an alternative explanation of how monetary policy influences banks is needed....

Government support to banks through the provision of explicit or implicit guarantees affects the willingness of banks to take on risk by reducing market discipline or by increasing charter value. We use an international sample of bank data and government support to banks for the periods...

This paper shows that large BHCs are better diversified than small BHCs based on market measures of diversification. We find, however, that better diversification does not translate into reductions in overall risk. The risk reducing potential of diversification at large BHCs is offset by their...

This study investigates the relationship between production efficiency in financial intermediation and financial system size. The study predicts and tests for the existence of "systemic scale economies" (SSEs), whereby value-maximizing intermediaries operating in large systems are expected to...

We present new evidence on how heterogeneity in banks interacts with monetary policy changes to impact bank lending. Using an exogenous policy measure identified from narratives on FOMC intentions and real-time economic forecasts, we find much greater heterogeneity in U.S. bank lending responses...

The impact of the financial crisis on Sweden’s economy and financial sector is analyzed in this study. From the financial stability analysis, banks are resilient to credit risk and could face difficulties with respect to liquidity risk. The frameworks of international reserve management...

In recent years, the IMF has released a growing number of reports and other documents covering economic and financial developments and trends in member countries. Each report, prepared by a staff team after discussions with government officials, is published at the option of the member country.

This 2008 Article IV Consultation highlights that problems in the housing and financial markets over the past year have combined to slow the United States’ economy substantially. As the residential investment downturn accelerated and national indices of housing prices started falling,...

This paper presents Detailed Assessment of the United States’s observance of Basel Core Principles for Effective Banking Supervision. The U.S. financial system is large and highly diversified. At the end-2007, total U.S. financial assets amounted to almost four and a half times the size...

This paper focuses on targeted detailed assessment of observance of the Basel Core Principles for effective banking supervision. The selection of the principles to be reassessed was made by the mission team based on an analysis of the risks and vulnerabilities of the Russian Federation. It was...