Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) is in a very early stage of development. Sometimes confused with the blockchain technology underlying bitcoin, it is supposed to be its evolution designed to avoid the architectural choices that make bitcoin and blockchain unsuitable for securities settlement...

We study the forecasting performance of the Fourier volatility estimator in the presence of microstructure noise. Analytical comparison and simulation studies indicate that the Fourier estimator significantly outperforms realized volatility type estimators in particular for high frequency data...

We analyze Sovereign Bond-Backed Securities, concentrating our attention on the return of the different tranches and on their risk. We show that as the correlation level among defaults increases, the yield rate of senior tranches increases while the yield rate of junior tranches decreases. A...

Analyzing the database made available by the European Central Bank (ECB) we evaluate the Comprehensive Assessment (asset quality review and stress test). We provide some insights on the supervisory approach of the ECB and on banking regulation. In a nutshell the main results are: i) risk...

The financial crisis renewed the debate on the bailout of financial institutions, questioning the effectiveness of such an intervention in restoring normal economic conditions. This paper analyzes the effect of State aids to distressed banks on the real economy, using a panel approach that...

The paper studies the motivations behind banks' shareholding of non-financial firms using a panel of large Italian companies in the period 1994-2000. Empirical evidence shows that banks are shareholders of companies that are less profitable, have experienced slower growth, are more indebted and...

We analyze the classical asset pricing model assuming non fully rational agents. Agents forecast future prices cum dividend through an adaptive learning rule. This assumption provides an explanation of some anomalies encountered in the empirical analysis of asset prices under full rationality:...

We consider general stochastic volatility models driven by continuous Brownian semimartinagales, we show that asset price volatility as well as volatility of the volatility ca be reconstructed pathwise by exploiting Fourier analysis from the observation of the asset price. Specifying...

We study optimal portfolio choice and labour market participation in a continuous time setting in which agents face health shocks, medical expenses, and random lifetimes. We explore the implications of different forms of health coverage and study their impact on dynamic portfolios and labour...