This paper develops a theoretical model which explains several stylized facts observed in the euro area interbank market after the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008. The model shows that if costs of participating in the interbank market are high, the central bank assumes an intermediary...

We study the functioning of secured and unsecured interbank markets in the presence of credit risk. The model generates empirical predictions that are in line with developments during the 2007-2009 financial crises. Interest rates decouple across secured and unsecured markets following an...

Unlike the crisis years of 2007-2009 (when the insolvency of large banks was a major problem), the current round of the global financial crisis has fiscal origins. Almost all developed countries suffer from an excessive public debt burden that has been built up over the last two decades or more....

This paper investigates the causes behind the euro debt crisis, particularly Germany's role in it. It is argued that the crisis is not primarily a "sovereign debt crisis" but rather a (twin) banking and balance of payments crisis. Intra-area competitiveness and current account imbalances, and...

This paper investigates Germany's vulnerability to the ongoing Euroland crisis. In 2010-11, Germany experienced a strong rebound from the global financial crisis of 2008-09. The Euroland crisis then meant record low interest rates and a depressed euro that boosted German extra-area exports. But...

Dieser Beitrag untersucht die Argumente für und gegen einen Ausstieg aus der expansiven Geldpolitik. Der Fokus liegt dabei auf der Betrachtung der Effekte eines Ausstiegs der amerikanischen Notenbank Fed auf die Eurozone. Dies erscheint sinnvoll, da die Fed als eine der ersten großen...

Niedrige oder sogar negative Realzinsen bestimmen seit Beginn der Krise die Kapitalmärkte in der Eurozone. Davon profitieren vor allem die Staatshaushalte in Ländern mit hoher öffentlicher Neuverschuldung. Sparer haben demgegenüber Schwierigkeiten, ihr Kapital rentierlich anzulegen. Die...

The euro crisis remains unresolved even as financial markets may seem calm for now. The current euro regime is inherently flawed, and recent reforms have failed to turn this dysfunctional regime into a viable one. Our investigation is informed by the "cartalist" critique of traditional "optimum...

This paper studies the effects of ECB communications about unconventional monetary policy operations on the perceived sovereign risk of Italy over the last five years. More than fifty events concerning non-standard operations are identified and classified with respect to the specific ECB...

This paper comments on the pros and cons of exit strategies. The focus is on the impact on the Euro area economy of the exit from unconventional monetary policies (UMP) by the Fed, which, appears to be the first central bank to lay out an exiting path. In this context, it discusses the issue of...