Securitization and financial solvency: empirical evidence from Portugal

This paper analyses the effect of securitization issues on the solvency of Portuguese financial institutions. For this purpose, we use an unbalanced panel model estimated using GMM methods and find that securitization has a slightly positive impact on the soundness of the issuing entity. We study 35 financial entities and 60 traditional securitizations issued by 9 originators between 2001 and 2013. The analysis reveals that the financial entities’ soundness improved slightly, showing that securitization enhanced the quality of the originators’ portfolios and increased the regulatory capital requirements. We also found that efficiency and profitability improve the risk-adjusted ROAA and that efficiency increases regulatory capital requirements. The robustness analysis confirms the positive effect of securitization on solvency, where both credit quality and liquidity are shown to be significant variables.     

A decent proposal

In this paper we explore the notion that players are decent in the sense that their choices are bounded by certain unwritten social rules. We apply this idea to problems of Bankruptcy and Implementation.JEL Classification: D78, D63The authors wish to express their gratitude for comments and suggestions to N. Baigent, S. Baliga, V. Bashkar, C. Beviá, S. Chattopadhayay, G. Charness, M. Maschler, C. Matutes, P. McAfee, I. Ortuño-Ortín, A. Rangel, J. Roemer, J. Schummer, T. Sjöström, W. Thomson, the participants in seminars in Hakone (Japan), Harvard, Queens University, Rochester, Studienzentrum at Gergenzee (Switzerland), two anonymous referees and an associate editor. The usual caveat applies. This research has been partially supported by grants BEC2002-02194, BEC2001-0535, and GV 01-371. This paper is dedicated to Bob Aumann, from whom we have learned so much.     

Commodity prices, trade, and poverty in Uruguay

The 2006-2008 food price spike raised concerns about the impact of high commodity prices on poverty in developing countries. This paper addresses these concerns in relation to Uruguay, a small country that exports agricultural commodities and imports fuels. Applying a general equilibrium model, we find that, as a whole, an increase in commodity prices has a positive effect on the economy of Uruguay. Benefits obtained through a growth in export activities are partially outweighed by an increase in crude oil prices. In this context, extreme poverty increases. As in other countries, the increase in food prices affects the already poor population, who become even poorer. This fact highlights the need for policies that mitigate the negative effects of price shocks.     

Some considerations about 1992

Invited Address at the Twenty-Seventh International Atlantic Economic Conference, March 18–24, 1989, Barcelona, Spain. Partial financial support from CICYT Grants n. PB 86-013 and PB 0340 is gratefully acknowledged.     

Determinants of pension plan fees in Spain

Pension plans and funds represent a substantial part of the welfare systems in both Europe and Spain. One of the most important factors in the choice of a plan or fund is the performance it obtains. In view of the influence that fees have on performance, the objective of this study is to analyse the variables that determine the management and custodial fees of individual pension plans. The Spanish market for pension plans and funds sets legal caps on these fees, and at the same time the majority of them are commercialized and managed by financial institutions, which can in turn generate a conflict of interests. In this article, we estimate models with censured variables and our findings show how the average investment per plan, the legal status and the size of the management company to which the plan belongs, and the style of the plan are all relevant determinants of the management fee. In turn, the custodial fee is determined by the legal status of the custodial company, the size, the return and the type of plan.