Uncovered interest parity, monetary policy and time-varying risk premia

In a recent paper, McCallum argued that monetary-policy behavior can be responsible for the apparent empirical failure of uncovered interest parity (UIP). The present paper investigates whether optimizing policy behavior can account for the observed regime-dependence of UIP evidence. The main result is that the tradeoff between interest-rate and exchange-rate stability is a potential candidate for the explanation of the apparent failure of UIP and that the consideration of policy reactions can explain why deviations from UIP differ systematically by the exchange-rate regime.     

Deviations from daily uncovered interest rate parity and the role of intervention

This paper considers the relationship between daily deviations from uncovered interest rate parity and US and German central bank intervention. The study uses daily overnight Eurocurrency deposit rates with a maturity time of 1 day, which exactly matches the sampling interval of the data. The intervention data are the official net daily purchases and sales of dollars vis-à-vis the German mark by the Federal Reserve System and the Bundesbank. The model uses FIGARCH innovations to represent the degree of long-term dependence in the volatility process. Some support is found for the intervention variables affecting the risk premium as predicted by theory. The impact of intervention in the 2 years immediately following the meltdown of the equity markets in October 1987 and Louvre Accord is particularly strong.     

Interest Rates and Exchange Rate Movements: Analyzing Short-term Investments in Long-term Bonds

Tests of the uncovered interest rate parity (UIP) are subject to various data problems when long-term interest rates are applied: due to the long investment period, time intervals for measuring exchange rate movements are usually overlapping and therefore not independent. This shortfall can be prevented by considering short-term investments in long-term bonds instead of investments to maturity. This article analyzes the explanatory power of long-term interest rates with regard to 1- and 3-month exchange rate movements by relating return differences from 1- and 3-month investments in domestic and foreign 10-year government bonds to nine different exchange rates. From a Swiss perspective, there is only weak support for an interrelation between return differences and the corresponding exchange rate movements, whereas from a US perspective, the resulting estimates are much more in line with UIP.The reader may for instance consider Engel (1996) and Froot and Thaler (1990).     

Global asset prices and FOMC announcements

This paper analyzes the impact of U.S. monetary policy announcement surprises on foreign equity indexes, short- and long-term interest rates, and exchange rates in 49 countries. We use two proxies for monetary policy surprises: the surprise change to the current target federal funds rate (target surprise) and the revision to the expected path of future monetary policy (path surprise). We find that different asset classes respond to different components of the monetary policy surprises. Global equity indexes respond mainly to the target surprise; exchange rates and long-term interest rates respond mainly to the path surprise; and short-term interest rates respond to both surprises. On average, a hypothetical surprise 25-basis-point cut in the federal funds target rate is associated with about a 1 percent increase in foreign equity indexes and a 5 basis point decline in foreign short-term interest rates. A surprise 25-basis-point downward revision in the expected path of future policy is associated with about a ½ percent decline in the exchange value of the dollar against foreign currencies and 5 and 8 basis point declines in short- and long-term interest rates, respectively. We also find that asset prices’ responses to FOMC announcements vary greatly across countries, and that these cross-country variations in the response are related to a country’s exchange rate regime. Equity indexes and interest rates in countries with a less flexible exchange rate regime respond more to U.S. monetary policy surprises. In addition, the cross-country variation in the equity market response is strongly related to the percentage of each country’s equity market capitalization owned by U.S. investors. This result suggests that investors’ asset holdings may play a role in transmitting monetary policy surprises across countries.     

利率和汇率变动对保险业影响的比较分析

利率和汇率两种重要政策工具通过影响国民经济增长速度对保险需求产生影响,并通过作用于保单预定利率及投资收益率直接影响着保险企业经营状况及资本充足率。其中,利率的不利变动对保险企业的影响更大,甚至可能危机企业的生存,中国寿险业严重的利差损负担即源于保单预定利率的降低;因地域及目的的不同,汇率对保险企业的影响比较复杂,企业可主动采取的风险防范措施较多。保险企业应加强人才引进和培养,强化对利率、汇率变动趋势的研究,防患于未然;并积极开拓投资渠道,创新风险管理方法,做好资产负债匹配。     

Can interest rate factors explain exchange rate fluctuations?

The level, slope, and curvature of the yield curve reflect time variation in investors’ risk premia and are known predictors of excess bond returns and economic activity. In this paper, I develop a term structure model under complete markets and no arbitrage to relate these interest rate factors to exchange rate fluctuations. The Gaussian properties of the stochastic discount factors imply non-linearities in exchange rate risk premia that are shown to account for up to half of the in-sample variation in one-year currency returns for different country pairs during the 1980s–2015 period. I find that interest rate factors help explain exchange rate fluctuations in and out of sample, particularly at longer horizons, and yield profitable currency portfolios relative to standard carry trade strategies.     

开放条件下利率、汇率联动与金融风险防范研究——以我国上市商业银行为例

随着我国金融开放程度的加深,人民币汇率与利率的联动关系将进一步加强,这种联动关系既是开放经济条件下的自我平衡机制,也可能成为金融风险传递和积累的通道.本文通过suR方法,分析利率、汇率变动对上市银行的影响,进而探讨利率、汇率联动与金融风险的关系.     

Banking and interest rates in monetary policy analysis: A quantitative exploration

The paper reconsiders the role of money and banking in monetary policy analysis by including a banking sector and money in an optimizing model otherwise of a standard type. The model is implemented quantitatively, with a calibration based on US data. It is reasonably successful in providing an endogenous explanation for substantial steady-state differentials between the interbank policy rate and (i) the collateralized loan rate, (ii) the uncollateralized loan rate, (iii) the T-bill rate, (iv) the net marginal product of capital, and (v) a pure intertemporal rate. We find a differential of over 3% p.a. between (iii) and (iv), thereby contributing to resolution of the equity premium puzzle. Dynamic impulse response functions imply pro- or counter-cyclical movements in an external finance premium that can be of quantitative significance. In addition, they suggest that a central bank that fails to recognize the distinction between interbank and other short rates could miss its appropriate settings by as much as 4% p.a. Also, shocks to banking productivity or collateral effectiveness call for large responses in the policy rate.     

Is exchange rate risk priced in microfinance?

High microcredit interest rates have often been a source of criticism against the microfinance movement. Research has focused attention on the cost structure of interest rates and more recently on the macroeconomic and macro-institutional factors. While cost structure is probably the most important determinant of interest rates, other factors can also matter. This paper uses an innovative measure of foreign exchange risk to explore its impact on microcredit interest rates. We show that microfinance institutions that operate in countries with fixed exchange rate regimes tend to charge lower interest rates than those operating in countries with floating exchange rate regimes.     

Money and exchange rates in the Grossman-Weiss-Rotemberg model

We analyze the impact of monetary policy on inflation, interest rates and exchange rates in a model with segmented asset markets developed by Grossman and Weiss (1983) and Rotemberg (1984, 1985). We find parameters for which real and nominal exchange rates in this model are (1) much more volatile than interest rates, inflation rates, and money growth rates, (2) highly correlated with each other, and (3) highly persistent. While this model fails to match the data in other important respects, it illustrates a potentially useful approach to modelling exchange rate behavior.     

我国商业银行利率风险的理论与实证分析

随着利率管制的放松 ,利率风险日益成为我国商业银行面临的重要风险。文章从理论和实践角度对我国商业银行利率风险状况进行了分析 ,并就我国商业银行利率风险管理面临的障碍进行了探讨。     

On the Foreign Exchange Risk Premium in Sticky-Price General Equilibrium Models

The properties of the foreign exchange risk premium in general equilibrium models with sticky nominal pricesare examined. In these models, risk premiums arise endogenously because monetary shocks lead to covariationof consumption and exchange rates. In some cases, the risk premiums are much larger than those produced inneoclassical general equilibrium models.     

Riding the swaption curve

We conduct an empirical analysis of the term structure in the volatility risk premium in the fixed income market by constructing long-short combinations of two at-the-money straddles for the four major swaption markets (USD, JPY, EUR and GBP). Our findings are consistent with a concave, upward-sloping maturity structure for all markets, with the largest negative premium for the shortest term maturity. The fact that both delta–vega and delta–gamma neutral straddle combinations earn positive returns that seem uncorrelated suggests that the term structure is affected by both jump risk and volatility risk. The results seem robust for macroeconomic announcements and the specific model choice to estimate the risk exposures for hedging.     

货币政策对我国投资水平影响的实证分析

投资是整个宏观经济体系运转过程中非常重要的一个环节,而货币政策对投资水平的作用是一个受到广泛关注的问题。理论界普遍的共识是,至少在短期内货币政策还是能对一国投资总水平产生影响。本文运用VAR模型、IRF检验及格兰杰因果关系检验,对我国货币政策与投资水平的关系进行了实证分析。结果显示,包括货币供给量、利率、汇率等在内的货币政策工具对总投资水平都会产生影响,相比较而言,货币供给量和利率的影响更大,持续时间更长。基于此,本文提出了通过适当减少货币供给量、调整利率和放开汇率等途径来提高投资水平的政策建议。