Are universal banks bad for financial stability? Germany during the world financial crisis

This case study explores the contribution of universal banking to financial stability in Germany during the recent financial crisis. Germany is a prototype for universal banking and has suffered from a rather small number of banking crises in the past. We review the banking literature and analyze the major institutional and regulatory features of the German financial system to establish a nexus between universal banking and stability. We focus on the following questions. First, which banks failed and did they because they were universal or because of other reasons? Second, which types of distress beside outright bank failures resulted from the crisis and how did German universal banks dealt with them? We show that only few German banks failed and these banks did so not because they were universal banks but because they were publicly owned. Most banks instead contributed to reduce the impact of the recent crisis.     

A CRITICAL REVIEW OF CONTAGION RISK IN BANKING

The recent financial crisis has focused the attention of scholars and policymakers on how to improve financial stability through better macro‐prudential regulation and supervision. In this paper, we compare the existing theoretical and empirical literature on contagion through the banking system. It is argued that the structure of the interbank market, the size of banks, the linkages among them, the level of correlation of their investments and the transparency of the regulator are key factors in determining the possibility of contagion. We discuss the different findings and present avenues for future research.     

Risk spillover analysis of China’s financial sectors based on a new GARCH copula quantile regression model

This study employs a new GARCH copula quantile regression model to estimate the conditional value at risk for systemic risk spillover analysis. To be specific, thirteen copula quantile regression models are derived to capture the asymmetry and nonlinearity of the tail dependence between financial returns. Using Chinese stock market data over the period from January 2007 to October 2020, this paper investigates the risk spillovers from the banking, securities, and insurance sectors to the entire financial system. The empirical results indicate that (i) three financial sectors contribute significantly to the financial system, and the insurance sector displays the largest risk spillover effects on the financial system, followed by the banking sector and subsequently the securities sector; (ii) the time-varying risk spillovers are much larger during the global financial crisis than during the periods of the banking liquidity crisis, the stock market crash and the COVID-19 pandemic. Our results provide important implications for supervisory authorities and portfolio managers who want to maintain the stability of China’s financial system and optimize investment portfolios.     

The impact of bank competition and concentration on bank risk-taking behavior and stability: Evidence from GCC countries

This paper presents a comprehensive assessment of the impact of competition on bank fragility pre and post financial crisis period in the GCC banking market as measured by bank risk-taking behavior and bank stability during the period 1998–2016. Our results indicate that a higher level of bank competition and the greater degree of concentration adds to financial fragility. The findings further shows that during the 2008 crisis, lower bank competition maintain the stability of GCC banks. We also find that lower level of competition and lower concentration in the banking market increases the risk-taking behavior of the low capitalized, low liquid and small banks which add to fragility in the banking system. Our findings suggest that countries with greater capital stringency, greater supervisory power, greater market discipline, and private monitoring, with explicit deposit insurance schemes, higher shareholder protection, and higher legal efficiency decrease banks’ risk-taking and increase their stability. We also find that greater regulatory restrictions and higher creditor protection decrease banks’ stability and increase risk in concerned countries. We find support for both competition-fragility and competition-stability hypotheses in the GCC banking market. The results also confirm that the use of a single measure of competition is insufficient to assess the role of competition in banking stability.     

论中国银行业监管的完善

2003年中国成立银行业监督管理委员会(简称银监会),代替中国人民银行统一行使对银行、金融资产管理公司、信托投资公司及其他存款类金融机构监管,以维护银行业的合法、稳健运行。本文重点讨论今后如何完善中国银行业的监管体系。     

我国银行体系的稳健性研究——基于面板VAR的实证分析

本文构建了我国银行稳健性指标体系的核心指标组,并合成银行稳健性指数BSI以综合评价我国银行体系的稳定性,检验了银行稳健性与经济增长、信贷规模扩张及资本市场价格之间的面板Granger因果关系。通过构建面板VAR模型度量了宏观经济与金融变量对银行稳定性的冲击。方差分解的结果显示,银行稳健性的波动主要受自身和GDP的影响,GDP增长率对BSI的波动的解释程度接近50%,说明银行的稳健性依赖于稳定的经济增长,受经济冲击的影响程度相当高。     

Quantity of finance and financial crisis: A non-monotonic investigation☆

Whether finance is beneficial to economic development remains ambiguous. There are studies arguing that finance can facilitate growth and increase stability. However, the recent global financial crisis has led some to argue that finance can decrease stability and lead to more crises. This paper constructs a non-monotonic framework of quantity of finance (measured by leverage) and financial crisis and decomposes leverage into fundamental and excess components. Using cross-country level data, the empirical results confirms that it is excess leverage, rather than fundamental leverage, that results in the increase of probability of financial crisis. Further empirical results show that excess leverage leads to a higher probability of currency crisis, asset price collapse, and banking crisis, while fundamental leverage helps alleviates the crises. This paper reconciles the two contrasting views of the relationship between finance and economic development and provides strong policy implication to pay special attention to the sudden increase of leverage, which is probably excessive, rather than fundamental leverage.     

The Great Depression versus the Great Recession in the U.S.: How fiscal,monetary, and financial polices compare

This study reviews the financial distress that triggered and amplified the financial crises of the Great Depression and Great Recession and compares macroeconomic and financial policy responses. Shadow banking funded the build-up of the financial excesses that preceded both. The quicker and forceful response of monetary and fiscal policy during the Great Recession and stronger action to restore market functionality mitigated the downturn and aided recovery. Nevertheless, actions to address the mortgage debt overhang were slower. Post-Depression reforms focused on preventing deposit runs and post-Great Recession reforms on preventing runs on bank debt and shadow banks while boosting capital buffers.     

The impact of credit supply shocks and a new Financial Conditions Index based on a FAVAR approach

This paper investigates the impact of credit supply shocks on the macroeconomy and estimates a new financial conditions index. We calculated two credit supply factors using a time-varying parameter FAVAR model. The first factor is identified as the willingness to lend, while the second factor is the lending capacity. The impact of these two types of shocks and their changes over time is examined using Hungarian data. The two types of lending shocks affect macro variables rather differently: a positive lending capacity shock (in a banking system mostly owned by non-residents) influences GDP through a decrease in country risk and the easing of monetary policy, while willingness to lend primarily increases lending activity. The two financial shocks also differ in terms of their evolution over time: deviations from the average in the impact of a willingness to lend shock usually occur for short periods of time and are of a small degree between the various quarters. However, in the case of lending capacity, certain trends can be observed: before the crisis, the stability of the banking system played an increasing role in country risk, whereas after 2008 it appears that monetary policy paid increasing attention to financial stability. Finally, a new type of financial conditions index is quantified based on our estimates, which measures the impact of the banking system’s lending activity on GDP growth.     

Early warning systems for currency crises: The Turkish case

Different severe financial crises episodes occurred in the Turkish economy in the last two decades. These crises led to severe economic and social consequences for Turkey in terms of increasing interest rates, large reserves losses, considerable currency depreciations, high output losses and high unemployment rates. This paper aims to illustrate the essential determinants of these crises by developing a multivariate logit model which estimates the predictive ability of sixteen economic and financial indicators in a sample that covers the period from January 1990 to December 2008. The empirical findings show that the Turkish crises are mainly due to excessive fiscal deficits, high money supply growths, sharp rises in short-term external debt, growing riskiness of the banking system (in particular currency and liquidity mismatches), and external adverse shocks.     

A Study of Effective Financial Support for SMEs to Improve Economic and Employment Conditions: Evidence from OECD Countries

Using a panel logit regression model, this study analyzes whether or not five categorized financial supports for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) from the governments of 11 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries facilitate economic and employment growth: (1) direct government loans to SMEs; (2) government‐guaranteed loans to SMEs; (3) the reinforcement of relationship banking; (4) financial stability steps to ease pro‐cyclicality; and (5) equity‐linked financing. The academic contribution of this research is in identifying the optimal type of government financial support to SMEs given a country's level of financial crisis and market‐rate level. The main empirical test results are as follows. First, the type of financial support that contributes most to economic and employment growth is the set of steps that governments take to ease pro‐cyclicality. Second, the reinforcement of relationship banking can also contribute to improved economic and employment conditions. Third, in less capital‐intensive countries, the results confirm that economic and employment improvement occurs more often if equity‐linked financing is used. Fourth, the adoption of dynamic loan‐loss provisions to prepare for periods of economic recession is necessary to reduce the pro‐cyclicality of SME loans within the 11 OECD countries studied in this paper; it is also necessary to transition from a persistent monetary‐easing policy stance to a flexible monetary stance within a country's fiscal policy in order to make commercial banks benefit from an incentive‐like risk premium for SME loans despite the existence of economic recessions. Finally, the study finds that the need to apply equity‐linked financing methods through the stock market is especially urgent in developing countries. As the managerial perspectives, it is confirmed that easing pro‐cyclicality of SME loan and enhancing banking relationship can contribute to SMEs fund management. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

金融政策与资本配置效率——1992～2005年中国的实证

本文运用一个综合的金融自由化指标以及上市公司层面的数据,检验了1992~2005年中国金融政策从金融压抑向金融自由化的转变,对以托宾Q作为衡量指标的资本配置效率的影响。结果表明,中国金融自由化政策,对提高资本配置效率有积极的影响,并促进了金融深化。然而,就整体而言,中国金融体系对资本配置效率的贡献仍极为有限;相对于银行部门,股票市场能更好地发挥优化资源配置的功能。因此,未来的金融发展政策应考虑扩大资本市场在中国金融体系中的作用。     

Combining monetary policy and prudential regulation: an agent-based modeling approach

This paper explores the interaction between monetary policy and prudential regulation in an agent-based modeling framework. Firms borrow funds from the banking system in an economy regulated by a central bank. The central bank carries out monetary policy, by setting the interest rate, and prudential regulation, by establishing the banking capital requirement. Different combinations of interest rate rule and capital requirement rule are evaluated with respect to both macroeconomic and financial stability. Several relevant policy implications were drawn. First, the efficacy of a given capital requirement rule or interest rate rule depends on the specification of the rule of the other type it is combined with. More precisely, less aggressive interest rate rules perform better when the range of variation of the capital requirement is narrower. Second, interest rate smoothing is more effective than the other interest rate rules assessed, as it outperforms those other rules with respect to financial stability and macroeconomic stability. Third, there is no tradeoff between financial and macroeconomic stability associated with a variation of either the capital requirement or the smoothing interest rate parameter. Finally, our results reinforce the cautionary finding of other studies regarding how output can be ravaged by a low inflation targeting.

     

我国金融安全评价体系及应用研究

准确评价我国金融安全,对于维护我国金融体系的稳定,有着重大而深远的影响。在阐述金融安全评价指标选取原则的基础上,构建了我国金融安全评价体系,该评价体系由国家宏观经济安全、金融机构安全和外部金融安全三个子系统构成,通过层次分析法确定各子系统及评价指标的权重,并运用功效系数法对我国1998-2004年的金融安全作出综合评价,力求对我国金融安全态势做出准确的判断,为预防、救助和处置措施提供科学依据。     

Fiscal Rules and Financial Systems: Complements or Substitutes?

We study the effect of fiscal rules on a country's credit rating and their interaction with financial development. We build a rich set of panel data, which includes a novel index for the strength of fiscal rules. We find a positive and significant effect of fiscal rules on sovereign ratings. We also find that this effect is attenuated in economies with a more developed domestic financial system. Therefore, financial markets act as a substitute for fiscal rules in lowering the default risk assessed by credit rating agencies. This substitution effect between fiscal rules and financial development is mostly triggered through the monitoring and enforcement dimension of fiscal rules.     

国际金融危机与中国财政政策设计：功能、目标、力度

本文结合国际金融危机,从理论和实践两方面探讨了中国财政政策设计和实施中存在的一些重要问题。一是从财政政策的维持和纠偏两方面,揭示了财政政策的基本功能,提出财政政策应该分为稳定和再稳定两类政策;二是从财政政策的经济和社会目标两方面,分析了财政政策目标错位问题,提出了财政政策目标应从实现经济增长调整为促进充分就业;三是从财政政策力度计量方面,考察了政府预算账户存在的问题,提出了单独设立稳定账户的设想。     

欧洲货币一体化中的财政约束研究——基于价格水平的财政理论(FTPL)视角

随着目前欧元区财政经济状况的整体恶化,稳定与增长的矛盾凸显,欧盟《稳定与增长公约》框架下的财政约束条款再度引发诸多争议。基于价格水平的财政理论(FTPL)视角,本文试图论证为实现欧元区物价稳定和欧元汇率稳定的双重目的,欧盟《稳定与增长公约》框架下的财政约束有其必要性。     

中国现代金融体系的结构、影响及前景

在经济快速增长的背景下,中国已逐步形成一个以中央银行为核心、商业银行为主体,各种银行和非银行金融机构分工协作的现代国家金融体系。运用计量分析方法和典型相关分析,研究中国现代金融体系的社会融资结构、证券市场结构以及影子银行结构,测度国家现代金融体系对实体经济各行业的影响程度。研究表明:金融机构贷款与债券市场对相关行业的促进具有一定协同作用,股票市场对第一、二产业的发展影响较小,金融业对第三产业的促进作用最大。根据目前金融体系的结构、影响,可以预见未来中国现代金融体系的发展前景将主要体现在市场化、网络化以及国际化三个方面。     

The Crisis in Russia: Some Initial Observations

In this article, Brian Henry and James Nixon argue that the sources of the recent crisis in Russia have been developing for some time. Declining productivity, an overvalued real exchange rate, and a chronic fiscal imbalance were the backcloth to the events in the Summer. The reliance on short term government borrowing, and the exposed state of the banking system were further consequences of this long running malaise. Prospects for the immediate future are bleak. If any improvement is to be made in the medium term serious structural improvement in the government finances and the real economy will be necessary.     

Portfolio diversification and systemic risk in interbank networks

This paper contributes to a growing literature on the ambiguous effects of risk diversification. In our model, banks hold claims on each other’s liabilities that are marked-to-market on the individual financial leverage of the obligor. The probability of systemic default is determined using a passage-problem approach in a network context and banks are able to internalize the network externalities of contagion through their holdings. Banks do not internalize the social costs to the real economy of a systemic default of the banking system. We investigate the optimal diversification strategy of banks in the face of opposite and persistent economic trends that are ex-ante unknown to banks. We find that the optimal level of risk diversification may be interior or extremal depending on banks exposure the external assets and that a tension arises whereby individual incentives favor a banking system that is over-diversified with respect to the level of diversification that is desirable in the social optimum.