Decreased real bond yields substantially increase failure rates for portfolios with an initial 4% withdrawal rate. One way to increase the safe withdrawal rate of a portfolio is to decrease the allocation to bonds and to increase the allocation to stocks. Unfortunately, increasing the allocation...

The transition from a reference rate regime centred on interbank offered rates (IBORs) to one based on a new set of overnight risk-free rates (RFRs) is an important paradigm shift for markets. This special feature provides an overview of RFR benchmarks, and compares some of their key...

We analyse recent developments in over-the-counter (OTC) interest rate derivatives markets using the results of the 2016 BIS Triennial Central Bank Survey. Overall, turnover in both OTC and exchange-traded markets has expanded moderately since 2013. The average daily turnover of US...

Bond portfolio outflows from emerging market economies (EMEs) are typically associated with currency depreciation and rising domestic long-term interest rates. This relationship asserted itself in a particularly stark way during the Covid-19 crisis in mid-March 2020. The impact of bond portfolio...

Microfinance is a social innovation to alleviate poverty by providing small unsecured loans to local entrepreneurs and the poor. Many borrowers use the microfinance loans to seed their small entrepreneurial businesses. However, the high interest rates charged by the microfinance institutions...

Since a mysterious creator under the alias Satoshi Nakamoto (a pseudonym) launched first successful cryptocurrency in January 2009, he (or could be she) also opened the door for never-ending criticism, claims, arguments, plethora of articles, and media frenzy all contemplating what Bitcoin is....

The entry of Big Tech firms in the financial ecosystem might affect financial stability through the opportunities and challenges they create for financial inclusion. In this paper we survey the literature to determine the effectiveness of financial education in improving financial literacy and...

We develop a new framework to examine the effects of retail central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) on financial inclusion and stability, particularly how the results depend on an economy's existing degree of financial development. We demonstrate that when offering CBDCs in underdeveloped...