Banque De Research Articles

An estimation of the Italian banking sector profit rate in a crisis period

In this paper an attempt is made to calculate the profit rate of the banking sector in the period following the 2007–2008 financial crisis, in order to compare it with that of other real productive sectors. Various techniques are used, highlighting the differences between the results of national accounts data—on which the GDP calculation is based—and those of the central bank. This paper studies the problem of this difference on Italian data and offers a possible explanation, which confirms some analysis (Banque de France on French data) related to an earlier period. The second step in the analysis is directed at comparing bank profit rate and the productive profit rate. The result is that the bank profit rate has been surprisingly low in recent years, due to a decrease in net interest income, an increase in capital and an increase in non-performing loans. However, since 2021, bank profitability has improved greatly, thanks in part to institutional interventions.

How did African stock markets react to the Russia-Ukraine crisis “black-swan” event? Empirical insights from event study

This study builds on the recent literature by investigating how various types of African stock markets responded to the Russia-Ukraine crisis (commonly referred to as the black-swan event). The empirical analysis used in this paper centred on event study analysis, a statistical technique used to measure the impact of a specific event. The findings show that the black-swan event had a significant negative impact on African stock markets (14/20), with stocks having a negative abnormal return on the event day, and out of this, nine stocks’ abnormal returns are statistically significant. These include Safaricom Kenya, Commercial International Bank, Attijariwafa Bank, Morocco Casablanca Index, Egyptian Exchange 30, Nairobi All Share Index, AVI Equity, MCB Group Ltd, FTSE/JSE All Share, Delta Corp. Ltd, Stock Exchange of Mauritius, Tunisia Stock Exchange, Tanzania All Share Index, and Banque de Tunisie. Furthermore, the study discovers that African stock markets reacted heterogeneously to the impact of the crises, while some stocks were severely affected, some were minimally affected. The study concludes that African stock markets should build a resilient market capable of withstanding external shock and reducing the risk of contagion.

Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust—2023 Borrowing Agreements with the Government of Australia, the People’s Bank of China, the Bank of Finland, the Banque De France, De Nederlandsche Bank NV, the Norwegian Ministry of Finance Representing the Kingdom of Norway, Sveriges Riksbank, and the Government of the United Kingdom

Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust—2023 Borrowing Agreements with the Government of Australia, the People’s Bank of China, the Bank of Finland, the Banque De France, De Nederlandsche Bank NV, the Norwegian Ministry of Finance Representing the Kingdom of Norway, Sveriges Riksbank, and the Government of the United Kingdom

Amniotic Membrane Transplant: About A Case in Mali

The amniotic membrane graft consists of suturing a fragment of membrane on the de-epithelialized area with a few separate stitches. We report a case of amniotic membrane transplant on keratitis following the local use of a traditional treatment in Mali. It was of a case of amniotic membrane transplant performed in Mali in the management of bilateral keratitis occurring following eyewash with a decoction made from cooked tamarind leaf in a 36-year-old man. We used a 3cm/3cm square AMTRIX® Amniotic Membrane from the Banque de Tissus de France. The membrane was grafted in Patch on the two eyes of our patient, this allowed us to have good healing and improved visual acuity. The use of the amniotic membrane in the management of keratitis gives good functional and anatomical results. She is now possible, However, its availability and cost remains a challenge for our developing countries.

What modern monetary theory is, and what it is not

Modern monetary theory (MMT) has grown in popularity in recent years. Several central bankers have made passing comments about it. However, the publication of two papers by Drumetz/Pfister of the Banque de France in 2021 represents the first attempt at a more systematic assessment of MMT by two scholars with knowledge of and experience in central banking. This is a welcome event in the economic debate. The present paper analyses the merits of Drumetz/Pfister’s criticism, and investigates some of the most common sources of ‘misinterpretation’ of MMT.

The establishment of the Eurodollar market in Paris and the failure of regulation and reform, 1959–1964

The advent of the Eurodollar market under the international monetary system of Bretton Woods (1944–1971) played a crucial role in the re-emergence of post-war international finance. By drawing on multiple historical archives, this article examines several aspects related to the establishment of the Eurodollar market in France between 1959 and 1964. The article argues that the Paris-based but Soviet owned Banque Commerciale pour l’Europe du Nord pioneered offshore banking in Paris and that some of the leading French banks sought Eurodollar regulations and reform in 1963. The Banque de France rejected regulation as it wished to promote Paris as a centre for offshore banking and because it deemed efforts to promote Eurodollar reform at the Bank of International Settlements unrealistic. The Banque de France was a member of the Eurodollar international governance regime that emerged in the 1960s.

Situation analysis of urogenital bilharzia in West Africa (2010-2021) and control strategies and prospects: systematic review and meta-analysis.

Schistosomes are parasitic diseases caused by flatworms (schistosomes or bilharzia), transmitted in the urine or in the faeces, and involving intermediate hosts (freshwater molluscs). Their recrudescence in endemic areas is no longer in question and remains a crucial public health problem in the world in general and in West Africa in particular. In order to eradicate bilharzia, many control strategies and policies have been implemented on both sides. The objective of this systematic literature review is to synthesize the existing evidence on control strategies implemented by West African countries. To achieve this, data were collected from PubMed, Direct Science, Web of Sciences, Google Scholar, PloS and Banque de Données de Santé Publique (BDSP), using appropriate keywords. Academic articles and theses written in French or English that evaluated the analysis of a bilharzia situation in West Africa were selected. Sixteen scientific papers were selected for the study, ten of which were used for a meta-analysis. The systematic review revealed that bilharzia is still an endemic disease in West Africa. Clearly, it continues to wreak havoc on the population, especially among school children. Rural areas are the most affected by the disease. Strategies to control bilharzia are based on preventive and curative treatment of the infection with chemotherapy and vector control of soil molluscs (host and vector of bilharzia eggs). Praziquantel is the main known antibilharzian. Also, the species most frequently found in analyses are S. haematobiumand S. mansonii. This review has allowed to evaluate the control strategies carried out and to deduce the strengths and weaknesses, in order to define the perspectives for the efficiency of the anti-bilharzia control for the eradication of bilharzia in the endemic zones of West Africa.

Modeling of the thermal regime of rivers subject to seasonal ice cover using data from different sources and temporal resolutions

A comprehensive picture of the spatial and temporal patterns of river thermal regimes requires temperature recorded over continuous long time series and across various environments. Unfortunately, these data are generally scarce in extended areas. In Canada, the first attempt to a general large-scale characterization of river thermal regimes was done using a standardized three-parameter Gaussian function and continuous temperature records collected in 158 Québec rivers. This model provided estimates of the river temperature annual maximum, the date of the annual maximum occurrence and the duration of the warm season, with confidence intervals linked to the duration of the available time series. This resulting thermal map was however limited spatially by the geographical location of the monitoring stations, restricted to the eastern portion of the province. It was also based on relatively short and recent temperature series, with most records shorter than five years and starting after 2010. In this work, we expanded both the space and time spans of the Québec rivers thermal map by adding new temperature data sources, namely satellite thermal data and spot measurements. Satellite data provided thermal information in remote northern regions where in situ data acquisition is difficult, from early 1980s until today. Spot measurements from the Banque de données sur la qualité des milieux aquatiques allowed to add nearly 250 rivers to the Québec thermal regimes characterization, with several stations operating since 1979. These three data sources were combined to characterize Québec rivers thermal regimes in more than 400 rivers and streams, over an extended geographical distribution. Uncertainty brought by the coarser temporal resolution of the spot and combined time series was assessed and found to result in substantially larger confidence intervals on the estimated model parameters, as compared with the confidence intervals obtained when using continuous time series of similar length.

The Latin Monetary Union Experience (1865‒1926): French Views on Monetary Union and Lending of Last Resort in Retrospect

Abstract The Latin Monetary Union (hereafter LMU) was established in 1865 between France, Italy, Belgium and Switzerland. The agreement provided for the adoption of a common monetary base consisting of specie, and the adoption of the free circulation of gold and silver coins among them, whatever the issuing country. Despite its original goal, the minting of silver coins was subject to numerous restrictions (especially between 1874 and 1876) before being fully suspended by article nine of the convention of November 5th 1878. The necessity for a lender of last resort quickly appeared in practice, even though the 1865 convention, and its numerous amendments, did not mention it in theory. The present article looks at how the idea of the lender of last resort was discussed in the context of the Latin Monetary Union. Specifically, it focuses on two opposing views on the LMU and its problems, as adopted by French economists at the time. The article concludes that the Banque de France played a crucial role in safeguarding the LMU. Referring to Bordo’s 1990 typology of lenders of last resort, we also add a fifth type, that of converter of last resort, to characterise the specific role played by the Banque de France.

Vertical Integration and Foreclosure: Evidence from Production Network Data

This paper studies the prevalence of potential anticompetitive effects of vertical mergers using a novel data set on U.S. and international buyer-seller relationships and across a large range of industries. We find that relationships are more likely to break when suppliers vertically integrate with one of the buyers’ competitors than when they vertically integrate with an unrelated firm. This relationship holds for both domestic and cross-border mergers and for domestic and international relationships. It also holds when instrumenting mergers using exogenous downward pressure on the supplier’s stock prices, suggesting that reverse causality is unlikely to explain the result. In contrast, the relationship vanishes when using rumored or announced but not completed integration events. Firms experience a substantial drop in sales when one of their suppliers integrates with one of their competitors. This sales drop is mitigated if the firm has alternative suppliers in place. These findings are consistent with anticompetitive effects of vertical mergers, such as vertical foreclosure, rising input costs for rivals, or self-foreclosure. This paper was accepted by Joshua Gans, business strategy. Funding: This work was supported by a Banque de France/Sciences Po Partnership. Supplemental Material: The data files and online appendices are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2022.4363 .

Interview of Jacques de Larosière: In search of a better world financial order

Jacques de Larosière (born 1929) played for more than half a century an influential role on the international monetary scene. He was Director of the French Treasury, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, Governor of the Banque de France and President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). In 2008, at the age of 79 years, he chaired the so-called De Larosière Committee which provided the blueprint for a fundamental reform of financial supervision in the European Union. Highlights of his career were the management of the Mexican debt crisis in the 1980s and his role in the process of economic and monetary integration in Europe, especially as a member of the Delors Committee. In his analyses he focuses on the "financialization" of our econ-omies and the ensuing problems with debt and asset price bubbles, for which the breakdown of the Bretton Woods system was an important cause. As part of a research program on collecting memories, this paper publishes the results of several interviews and discussions with him.

Measuring the Climate Risk Exposure of Financial Assets : Methodological Challenges and Central Bank Practices

In order to understand climate-related risks and opportunities, the availability and transparency of reliable financial information is essential. In this regard, the financial sector plays a special role owing to its ties to other economic sectors, and the exposure of financial institutions highlights the responsibility of central banks. This paper uses the literature related to environmental sustainability reporting as well as practical experience to describe the challenges encountered in assessing the green risks of financial assets (absence and heterogeneity of data, differences in definitions and requirements, lack of a uniform methodology, limits of rating schemes) and also details the climate risk measurement methodologies and practical solutions employed by central banks publishing their own climate-related financial disclosures, i.e. the Bank of England, the Banque de France and the Magyar Nemzeti Bank.

Gold rush: the political economy of the Yugoslavian gold exchange standard

This article analyses the economic, political and cultural factors that influenced the decision of policy-makers in Yugoslavia to join the gold exchange standard in the midst of the Great Depression in June 1931. The analysis proceeds in three stages. First, the economic reasons why policy elites and interest groups endeavoured to adopt the gold exchange standard are examined by looking at debates in Yugoslavia's central bank, correspondence between governmental institutions and the views of policy elites as depicted in various economic newspapers. Subsequently, the article analyses how the beliefs in economic benefits analysed in the previous part were formed, considering the state of economic knowledge in the country, as well as pressures exerted by foreign lenders such as the Bank of England, the Banque de France and the Bank for International Settlements. The third part analyses reasons for legal stabilisation that go beyond economic rationales, considering how the government employed the prestige involved in legal stabilisation for its political agenda, and how cultural attachments to ‘gold core countries’ made sharing their monetary system a matter of cultural integration.

Burnout prevalence among European physicians: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Our objective was to assess burnout prevalence rates among physicians practicing in Europe (regardless of their specialty) taking into account the main approaches used to define burnout with the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) tool. A systematic review was carried out from 2006 to 2018. A keyword request was obtained using the PubMed/Medline, Web of Science and Banque de Données en Santé Publique search engine. Studies written in English measuring burnout with the MBI tool among a population of practicing European physicians were selected. Data were extracted and classified according to burnout's definition provided by the authors. Three definitions using the MBI dimensions were considered: tri-, bi- and unidimensional definition. A meta-analysis was then performed on burnout prevalence rates according to the dimensional definition of burnout. From 2378 search results, we selected 56 studies including from up to 41 European countries. Depending upon the study, physicians' burnout prevalence rates ranged from 2.5% to 72.0%. The pooled prevalence rate of burnout was estimated at 7.7% [5.3-10.4%] with the tridimensional definition, 19.7% [13.5-26.3%] with the bidimensional definition and 43.2% [29.0-57.6%] with the unidimensional definition. Burnout pooled prevalence among physicians varies from single to fivefold depending on the method employed to assess burnout with the MBI tool. Medical community should determine a standardized method to assess burnout prevalence rates to best evaluate this phenomenon.

The impact of ICTs and digitalization on productivity and labor share: evidence from French firms

ABSTRACT Taking advantage of an original firm-level survey carried out by the Banque de France, we empirically investigate how the employment of ICT specialists (in-house and external) and the use of digital technologies (cloud and big data) have an impact on firm productivity and labor share. Our analysis relies on the survey responses in 2018 of 1,065 French firms belonging to the manufacturing sector and with at least 20 employees. To tackle potential endogeneity issues, we adopt an instrumental variable approach as proposed by Bartik (1991, Who Benefits from State and Local Economic Development Policies? Kalamazoo, MI: W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.). The results of our cross-section estimations point to a large effect: ceteris paribus, the employment of ICT specialists and the use of digital technologies improve a firm’s labor productivity by about 23% and its total factor productivity by about 17%. Conversely, the employment of in-house ICT specialists and the use of big data both have a detrimental impact on labor share, of about 2.5 percentage points respectively.

The Impact of ICTs and Digitalization on Productivity and Labor Share: Evidence from French firms

Taking advantage of an original firm-level survey carried out by the Banque de France, we empirically investigate how the employment of ICT specialists (in-house and external) and the use of digital technologies (cloud and big data) have an impact on firm productivity and labor share. Our analysis relies on the survey responses in 2018 of 1,065 French firms belonging to the manufacturing sector and with at least 20 employees. To tackle potential endogeneity issues, we adopt an instrumental variable approach as proposed by Bartik (1991). The results of our cross-section estimations point to a large effect: ceteris paribus, the employment of ICT specialists and the use of digital technologies improve a firm’s labor productivity by about 23% and its total factor productivity by about 17%. Conversely, the employment of in-house ICT specialists and the use of big data both have a detrimental impact on labor share, of about 2.5 percentage points respectively

Overview and Inventory of French Funds' Liquidity Management Tools: Dynamic View Since 2017 and Update as at Mid-2021

This article presents an update of the analysis of French-domiciled funds’ prospectuses carried out jointly by the Autorite des marches financiers and the Banque de France (Darpeix, LeMoign, Meme, Novakovic, 2020). The first contribution of this new study is to bring a time dimension to the study of the deployment of liquidity management tools in investment funds since the implementation of the recommendations of the Financial Stability Board (2017) and of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (2018). These tools, introduced into the French regulatory framework, are a response to the financial stability issues that have been identified concerning liquidity in investment funds around the world. The second contribution of this article is to allow for a granular assessment of LMTs’ uptake, by fund type and according to various fund characteristics (funds serving as units for unit-linked insurance products, employee savings funds, ETFs, regulatory nature - UCITS or AIFs-) via merges with other databases. The main result from this article is that even if a progression of the deployment is indeed observed in certain categories of funds, there is still to this day a significant margin of improvement for the liquidity management tools to become a market standard for French investment funds

Enrichment of the Banque de France’s monthly business survey: lessons from textual analysis of business leaders’ comments

In the context of the Banque de France’s monthly business survey, this document presents the main findings of the textual analysis of business leaders’ comments. First, the richness of these data is illustrated via an elementary sentiment index and the identification of the main social movements since 2009 by means of keywords. Then, the article presents two statistical applications whose reproducibility is discussed. The first one, applied to the 2018 yellow vests and the 2019 strikes, aims to estimate the impact on GDP of an event whose effect is unequivocal. The second, backed by the study of Brexit, aims to characterize, using a supervised learning model and word vectors, the effects of a complex event with multiple impacts.

Transparency and accountability influences of regulation on risk control: the case of a Swedish bank

This qualitative in-depth case study explores the influence of financial regulation on risk control within Banque de Montagne, a large listed bank in Sweden. Specifically, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of the European Banking Authority´s Guidelines on Internal Governance (GL 44), through Swedish Financial Regulation FFFS 2014:1, on the bank’s risk organization along the three lines of defense model of internal control. FFFS 2014:1 requires banks to reform risk control structures, processes, and roles through a mandated split between the operational risk and compliance functions of the internal risk organization. Through an analysis of 41 interviews, more than 2100 pages of internal and external documents, and over 200 hours of observations from 2015 to 2017, the research identifies the relevant changes to transparency and accountability mechanisms across the three lines of defense within the organization. The operationalization of these concepts through risk control mechanisms is an important consideration for both banks and regulators who rely on the three lines of defense model as an industry-wide adoption for effective risk control. The findings suggest that whilst intra- and inter-organizational accountability mechanisms have strengthened under the changed organizational structure through the implementation of FFFS 2014:1, challenges to effective transparency remain and may have ambiguous consequences for both organizational and regulatory aims

Overview and Inventory of French Funds' Liquidity Management Tools

This article constitutes a first presentation of the prospectus analysis tool developed through a cooperation between the Banque de France and the Autorite des marches financiers (AMF). This work aims to identify the liquidity management tools (LMT) implemented funds regulated by the AMF under French law (“French funds”). This work is part of a logic to follow up on IOSCO recommendations (2018) to strengthen the overall liquidity risk management framework in line with the recommendations adopted by the FSB (2017). In order to better manage the liquidity risk of investment funds, numerous measures are provided for by international texts, and imposed at the level of European Directives and Regulations governing funds and management companies or recommended by ESMA. In addition to the rules for monitoring and managing liquidity, certain tools can be used in normal times or in times of stress, in order to limit the risks of fire-sales or to mitigate their impact. This paper presents these liquidity management tools as precisely as possible and describes the appropriation of these tools by French funds at the end of 2019, based on a textual analysis of the prospectuses.