The Australian credit default swap (CDS) market has been increasingly used by financial institutions to trade and manage credit risk. As a result, there has been greater use of the market as a source of credit risk pricing information. Similarities between CDS and bonds allow pricing in the two...

The Australian economy has proven resilient to sizable exchange rate fluctuations over the post-float period. In part this can be attributed to financial institutions and non-financial firms learning to adapt to swings in the Australian dollar. This has included the increased use of financial...

After falling for over a decade, the major banks' net interest margins appear to have stabilised in a relatively narrow range in recent years. In the early part of the financial crisis, margins fell to the bottom of this range, reflecting an increase in debt funding costs. Margins have since...

The financial crisis and the ensuing recession have caused a sharp deterioration in public finances across advanced economies, raising investor concerns about sovereign risk. The concerns have so far mainly affected the euro area, where some countries have seen their credit ratings downgraded...

The financial crisis and economic recession, and policymakers' responses to these events, have raised sovereign risk concerns in a number of advanced economies. This has increased the cost and reduced the stability of funding for banks. It has also meant that decisions about the maturity of...

In Asia, government-supported housing agencies have played a constructive role in the development of domestic residential mortgage and bond markets. Several agencies have increased their overall market presence in recent years by expanding their activities and have accepted a larger share of the...

This paper examines the role of government-supported housing finance agencies in Asia. We estimate the size of the government subsidies received by these agencies, and their distribution among households, financial institutions and the agencies themselves. We have three main findings. The level...