A striking feature of many financial crises is the collapse of exports relative to output. In the 2008 financial crisis, real world exports plunged 17 percent while GDP fell 5 percent. This paper examines whether the drying up of trade finance can help explain the large drops in exports relative...

We study the macroeconomic effects of rational asset bubbles in an overlapping-generations economy where asset trading requires specialized intermediaries and where agents freely choose between working in the production or in the financial sector. Frictions in the market for deposits create...

Since the 90's, European banks have sustained numerous structural disturbances. Their degree of integration combined with the universality of our institutions in the banking sector may then be an important factor to take into account in appreciating its resistance to systemic shocks. In this...

We examine the effect of U.S. branch banking deregulations on the entry size of new firms, using micro-data from the U.S. Census Bureau. We find that the average entry size for startups did not change following the deregulations. However, among firms that survived at least four years, a greater...

This lecture examines the causes of the recent financial crisis and subsequent recession. On the macroeconomic side, the Great Moderation encouraged an overly optimistic assessment of risk. Combined with low interest rates, reflecting both loose monetary policy and relatively high Asian savings...

When granting credit, banks depend on reliable information about the creditworthiness and risk structure of potential borrowers. This information is typically gathered by national credit bureaus. Nationally established banks depend on information from credit bureaus more than ever, particularly...

ABI, through the European Banking Report, and Ubs have recently conducted a survey on the opportunities, risks and market trends of Italian banks for next three years addressed to top managers of 32 Italian banking groups and 34 international institutional investors.The responses of the 4 major...

Adequate remuneration of temporary overdrafts must reflect their nature and allow full competition among banks in formulating the pricing in a context of simplicity, transparency and comparability for the customers.

The debate on new banking regulation after the crisis has focused on the need to improve the quality of capital and to harmonize its definition, reducing the national differences. In Italy, many problems may affect the scenario in the coming years, first of all the unfavourable treatment of...

The crisis did not affect the ability of Italian banks to maintain the employment and professional level, with a growing female presence. In terms of international competitiveness, the labour cost structure remains a weak point, with a cost-income ratio above the European average.Among the...