This paper asks why Japan has not yet suffered from a sovereign debt crisis, although its gross public debt as a percentage of GDP is much higher than in Greece. We use a simple stylized model to explain the occurrence of both a fundamental and a speculative debt crisis. We apply this model to...

The paper provides a simple model for interbank loans. Since interbank trades are usually over-the-counter transactions, we use a bilateral bargaining model and apply the Nash bargaining solution. We determine the threat points and the bargaining frontier of debtor and creditor banks. We ask...

We comment on an article published in this journal by <link rid="b1">Hefeker (2003)</link> and reveal an inconsistency in his analysis of monetary policy in federal monetary unions. We clarify an implicit assumption in his model and show that even when this further assumption is met, <link rid="b1">Hefeker's (2003)</link> claim that a...

This paper analyzes the incentive effects of special bank resolution schemes which were introduced during the recent financial crisis. These schemes allow regulators to take control over a systemically important financial institution before bankruptcy. We ask how special resolution schemes...

Existing institutions of banking regulation force banks to meet minimum capital adequacy ratios. These regulations intend to guarantee the solvency of banks and to protect depositors against excessive risk-taking by bank-owners. By the same token, however, they may have consequences for...

This paper describes and compares the regulation and supervision of banks in Japan and Germany. We have chosen these countries because they have both bank-dominated financial systems and belong to the same law tradition, yet, bank stability differs significantly. We ask to what extent these...

Measured by the size of their respective currency areas, the Bank of Japan and Eurosystem both belong to the most important central banks in the world. Though they have many institutional features in common and conduct monetary policy almost in similar ways, there are still important...