104 research outputs found
An assessment of financial sector rescue programmes
No full textAll Authors--Fabio Panetta, Thomas Faeh, Giuseppe Grande, Corrinne Ho, Michael King, Aviram Levy, Federico M Signoretti, Marco Taboga, and Andrea Zaghini This volume was prepared by staff members of the BIS and the Bank of Italy. The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the BIS or the Bank of Italy. Eleven countries examined-Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States
Il ritorno del contratto nazionale: la leva della partecipazione. Interviste con : Roberto Benaglia, Stefano Franchi, Corrado Felice La Forgia, Francesca Re David, Federico Butera
No full textAn assessment of financial sector rescue programmes
No full textWe analyse the wide array of rescue programmes adopted in several countries, following Lehman Brothers’ default in September 2008, in order to support banks and other financial institutions. We first provide an overview of the programmes, comparing their characteristics, magnitudes and participation rates across countries. We then consider the effects of the programmes on banks’ risk and valuation, looking at the behaviour of CDS premia and stock prices. We then proceed to analyse the issuance of government guaranteed bonds by banks, examining their impact on banks’ funding and highlighting undesired effects and distortions. Finally, we briefly review the recent evolution of bank lending to the private sector. We draw policy implications, in particular as regards the way of mitigating the distortions implied by such programmes and the need for an exit strategy.bank asset guarantees, capital injection, banks, financial sector, financial crisis, bank consolidation, bank mergers and acquisitions, event studies, government guaranteed bonds, credit crunch, exit strategy
Credit ratings in structured finance and the role of systemic risk
No full textThis paper explores the implications of systemic risk in Credit Structured Finance (CSF). Risk measurement issues loomed large during the 2007-08 financial crisis, as the massive, unprecedented number of downgrades of AAA senior bond tranches inflicted severe losses on banks, calling into question the credibility of Rating Agencies. I discuss the limits of the standard risk frameworks in CSF (Gaussian, Single Risk Factor Model; GSRFM), popular among market participants. If implemented in a ‘static’ fashion, GSRFM can substantially underprice risk at times of stress. I introduce a simple ‘dynamic’ version of GSRFM that captures the impact of large systemic shocks (e.g. financial meltdown) for the value of CSF bonds (ABS, CDO, CLO, etc.). I argue that a proper 'dynamic' modeling of systemic risk is crucial for gauging the exposure to default contagion (‘correlation risk’). Two policy implications are drawn from a 'dynamic' GSRFM: (i) when rating CSF deals, Agencies should disclose additional risk information (e.g. the expected losses under stressed scenarios; asset correlation estimates); and (ii) a ‘point-in-time’ approach to rating CSF bonds is more appropriate than a ‘through-the-cycle’ approach.structured finance, systemic risk, credit risk measures, bond pricing
Credit demand and supply in Italy during the financial crisis
No full textThe paper analyzes developments in bank lending in Italy during the financial crisis, assessing the relative contribution of demand and supply factors to lending deceleration. We find that the slowdown in lending was mainly due to a reduction in demand. For households, this can be attributed to the weakness of the real estate market and to the fall in consumption; for firms, a diminution in financing needs, due in turn to the sharp contraction of investment. Credit market indicators and empirical studies suggest that lending growth may also have been curbed by tensions in credit supply. These tensions mainly reflected the increase in borrower risk, as well as the impact of the crisis – especially in its first phase – on banks’ capital, liquidity, and ability to access external funding. Econometric analyses corroborate these indications, suggesting that the overall impact of banks’ conditions on the lending slowdown was modest. Over the next few months, supply tensions could persist, but the risk of a limitation of credit will be moderated by the economic recovery and the consequent reduction in borrower default risk. There will also be support from public interventions, which have provided financial support to firms, improving their creditworthiness, and strengthened banks’ capital and liquidity position.credit demand and supply, financial crisis, Italian economy.
Switching costs in local credit markets
No full textSwitching costs are a key determinant of market performance. This paper tests their existence in the corporate loan market in which they are likely to play a central role because of the complexity of contracts and informational problems. Using very detailed data at bank-firm level on four Italian local credit markets we empirically show that firms tend to iterate their choice of the main bank over time. This inertia is not related to unobserved and time invariant preferences of firms across banks and can be attributed to the existence of switching costs. We also offer evidence that banks price discriminate between new and old borrowers by charging lower interest rates to the former in order to cover part of the switching costs. The discount is about 44 basis points, equal to 7 per cent of the average interest rate. These results prove robust to a number of other potential identification drawbacks.switching costs, local credit markets, price discrimination, lending relationships
The impact of sovereign credit risk on bank funding conditions
No full textThe financial crisis and the ensuing recession have caused a sharp deterioration in public finances across advanced economies, raising investor concerns about sovereign risk. The concerns have so far mainly affected the euro area, where some countries have seen their credit ratings downgraded during 2009−11 and their funding costs rise sharply. Other countries have also been affected, but to a much lesser extent. Greater sovereign risk is already having adverse effects on banks and financial markets. Looking forward, sovereign risk concerns may affect a broad range of countries. In advanced economies, government debt levels are expected to rise over coming years, due to high fiscal deficits and rising pension and health care costs. In emerging economies, vulnerability to external shocks and political instability may have periodic adverse effects on sovereign risk. Overall, risk premia on government debt will likely be higher and more volatile than in the past. In some countries, sovereign debt has already lost its risk-free status; in others, it may do so in the future. The challenge for authorities is to minimise the negative consequences for bank funding and the flow-on effects on the real economy. This report outlines the impact of sovereign risk concerns on the cost and availability of bank funding over recent years. It then describes the channels through which sovereign risk affects bank funding. The last section summarises the main conclusions and discusses some implications for banks and the official sector. Two caveats are necessary before discussing the main findings. First, the analysis focuses on causality going from sovereigns to banks, as is already the case in some countries, and, looking forward, is a possible scenario for other economies. But causality may clearly also go from banks to sovereigns. However, even in this second case, sovereign risk eventually acquires its own dynamics and compounds the problems of the banking sector. Second, the report examines the link between sovereign risk and bank funding in general terms, based on recent experience and research. It does not assess actual sovereign risk and its impact on bank stability in individual countries at the present juncture.Sovereign debt; banks; financial turmoil
Credit and Banking in a DSGE Model of the Euro Area
No full textThis paper studies the role of credit supply factors in business cycle fluctuations using a dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) model with financial frictions enriched with an imperfectly competitive banking sector. Banks issue collateralized loans to both households and firms, obtain funding via deposits, and accumulate capital out of retained earnings. Loan margins depend on the banks' capital-to-assets ratio and on the degree of interest rate stickiness. Balance-sheet constraints establish a link between the business cycle, which affects bank profits and thus capital, and the supply and cost of loans. The model is estimated with Bayesian techniques using data for the euro area. The analysis delivers the following results. First, the banking sector and, in particular, sticky rates attenuate the effects of monetary policy shocks, while financial intermediation increases the propagation of supply shocks. Second, shocks originating in the banking sector explain the largest share of the contraction of economic activity in 2008, while macroeconomic shocks played a limited role. Third, an unexpected destruction of bank capital may have substantial effects on the economy. Copyright (c) 2010 The Ohio State University.
Credit availability and investment in Italy: lessons from the "Great Recession"
No full textThe paper argues that the traditional difficulty encountered in finding evidence on the effects of credit availability on economic activity depends on the fact that these effects are powerful but rare and vary with the cycle. The global financial crisis offers an opportunity to test this assumption. The paper exploits a unique dataset, including direct information on credit rationing for 1,200 Italian firms over the last twenty years. We find that the elasticity of a firm’s investment to the availability of bank credit has been significant in periods of economic contraction, but not in other periods; that the ability to tap alternative sources of finance is crucial to this result; that during the global crisis the impact of credit constraints on Italian investment in manufacturing was significant.credit availability; credit channel; Great Recession
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