Using a unique dataset of the Euro area and the U.S. bank lending standards, we find that low (monetary policy) short-term interest rates soften standards, for household and corporate loans. This softening – especially for mortgages – is amplified by securitization activity, weak supervision...

The paper provides a baseline model for regulatory analysis of systemic liquidity shocks. We show that banks may have an incentive to invest excessively in illiquid long term projects. In the prevailing mixed strategy equilibrium the allocation is inferior from the investor’s point of view...

The paper provides a baseline model for regulatory analysis of systemic liquidity shocks. We show that banks may have an incentive to invest excessively in illiquid long term projects. In the prevailing mixed strategy equilibrium the allocation is inferior from the investor's point of view since...

In March 2012 a conference, organised jointly by the ICFR and SUERF, on "Future Risks and Fragilities for Financial Stability", explored what the next pressure points for financial stability might be, how these may arise from the response to the last financial crisis, and how the industry and...

The cost of equity for banks equates to the compensation that market participants demand for investing in and holding banks’ equity, and has important implications for the transmission of monetary policy and for financial stability. Notwithstanding its importance, the cost of equity is...

In March 2012 a conference, organised jointly by the ICFR and SUERF, on "Future Risks and Fragilities for Financial Stability", explored what the next pressure points for financial stability might be, how these may arise from the response to the last financial crisis, and how the industry and...

This Occasional Paper analyses how significant expansions in central banks' mandates, roles and instruments can result in challenges to the independence of monetary policy. The paper reviews, in particular, some of the key challenges to central bank independence brought about by the global...

The global increase in the regulation of banks has encouraged the channeling of investment funds into less regulated institutions such as shadow banks to avoid restriction. Shadow banks are institutions that operate outside the regulatory framework of the traditional banking system and because...

The U.S. Subprime Crisis and the subsequent Great Recession have highlighted a renewed interest in the proper design and implementation of Early Warning Systems (E.W.S.), in order to help deter the onset of subsequent extreme financial events, through the implementation of adequate crisis...

Following the adoption by the Basel Committee of new capital rules for banks, a process is now taking place in the EU to transpose the rules into Community law and, ultimately, into national legislation. This paper gives an overview of the main issues that relate to the EU implementation, mainly...