We take issue with claims that the funding mix of banks, which makes them fragile and crisis-prone, is efficient because it reflects special liquidity benefits of bank debt. Even aside from neglecting the systemic damage to the economy that banks' distress and default cause, such claims are...

We take issue with claims that the funding mix of banks, which makes them fragile and crisisprone, is efficient because it reflects special liquidity benefits of bank debt. Even aside from neglecting the systemic damage to the economy that banks' distress and default cause, such claims are...

While it is recognized that the high degree of leverage used by financial institutions creates systemic risks and other negative externalities, many argue that equity financing is “expensive,” and that increased capital requirements will increase the cost of credit. Public subsidies of debt...

The global financial crisis exposed the need for coherence and transparency in bank liquidity management. The problem of asymmetry of information associated with liquidity was particularly acute during the crisis, leading to both adverse selection and moral hazard problems. The inability to...

Preventing future bail-outs for large, systemically important banks while minimizing the repercussions of bank insolvencies on the stability of the financial system and the economy at large has become a key policy objective for international standard-setters as well as national and supranational...

During the Great Recession, liquidity did not flow out of the banking sector but transferred internally. Deposits increased, but the volumes of all other short-term debt financing instruments except for T-Bills decreased. Commercial banks, which have stable funding sources from deposits, did not...

We model the impact of bank mergers on loan competition, banks' reserve holdings and aggregate liquidity. Banks compete in a differentiated loan market, hold reserves against liquidity shocks, and refinance in the interbank market. A merger creates an internal money market that induces financial...

The classical Bagehotu0092s conception of a Lender of Last Resort (LOLR) that lends to illiquid banks has been criticized on two grounds: on the one hand, the distinction between insolvency and illiquidity is not clear cut; on the other a fully collateralized repo market allows Central Banks to...

Using the model of Rochet and Vives (2004), this note shows that a prudential regulator can in general not mitigate a bank’s failure risk solely by means of liquidity requirements. However, their effectiveness can be restored if, in addition, minimum capital requirements are met. This provides...