Currency Composition Research Articles

The Shock Absorbing Role of Cross-border Investments: Net Positions Versus Currency Composition

We present a comprehensive analysis of the shock absorption role of external positions using the currency exposures dataset by Bénétrix et al. (2020). While the literature has frequently studied how the net international investment position and its currency composition determine the direction and scale of valuation effects, we focus on their amplitude. This is of central importance for global financial stability given the large and increasing scale of external balance sheets. To that end, we propose an indicator showing the extent to which external positions absorb or amplify exchange rate shocks. Analysing a set of 50 countries over the period 1990-2017, we find the external shock absorption role to be present for advanced economies, while this was initially not the case for emerging markets economies (EMEs). In recent years, however, EMEs’ external positions increasingly showed a shock absorption capacity. Our regression-based analysis reveals that the level of economic and financial development is associated with a greater capacity to absorb exchange rate shocks.

Essays in monetary history

Abstract The paper summarizes my dissertation, submitted to the Geneva Graduate Institute. I constructed a novel database of the currency composition of European foreign exchange reserves during the Bretton Woods period, from central banks’ archives. The first paper studies the determinants of the composition of the foreign exchange portfolios. The second paper compares the British pound’s international role in Europe and the sterling area. I argue that its persistence as a reserve currency was due to threats and economic sanctions. The final paper focuses on 19th Bank of France, and shows that data was used as collateral at the discount window.

Risk preferences, global market conditions and foreign debt: Is there any role for the currency composition of FX reserves?

I estimate a transition probability matrix associated with a two-state Markov process of emerging market economies (EMEs) volatility. The different states of EMEs volatility, generate switches in central bank preferences between approximated constant relative risk aversion and increasing relative risk aversion expected utility. Therefore, I construct and propose constrained portfolio selection frameworks with skewness, for the currency composition of FX reserves over different EMEs volatility states for Brazil, Indonesia and South Africa. These EMEs have constituted as part of the “Fragile Five”. Thus, I propose progressive risk management procedures for these EMEs. These portfolio selection frameworks satisfy Pratt–Arrow measures of risk aversion and are constrained by each country’s currency composition of foreign debt. Using different methods of computing expected FX reserves returns, traditional strategic FX reserve assets and different maturity structures, I simulate optimal FX reserve weights for each EME and validate my proposal.

A parsimonious model of trade, finance and endogenous currency choices in international reserves

We provide a parsimonious model with two international currencies (dollar and quasi-dollar) to examine the endogenous linkage among trade invoicing, bank funding and optimal currency choices in central banks’ international reserves. We find that (1) when the exchange rate volatility is high, an increase in dollar debt share would lead central banks to hold a larger dollar share in international reserves; (2) when exchange rates of dollar and quasi-dollar move in the same direction, they tend to cut dollar share in reserve holdings. We test these predictions using a newly-available foreign exchange reserve currency composition dataset and find considerable support.

Currency concentration in sovereign debt, exchange rate cyclicality, and volatility in consumption

For emerging economies, borrowing abroad is a double-edged sword: it can buffer against adverse economic shocks and smooth their domestic consumption; however, it can also amplify volatility in consumption, depending on the currency in which the debt is denominated and cyclicality in the borrower’s exchange rate. We empirically investigate the nexus among external debt portfolios, exchange rate cyclicality, and volatility in consumption of low- and middle-income countries. Since 1980, many countries have concentrated their external debt portfolios’ currency composition. By constructing debt-weighted effective exchange rates, we find that currency concentration magnifies exchange rate pro-cyclicality, making domestic consumption more volatile when national income fluctuates. Our results endorse diversifying the currency composition of external debt to mitigate the negative consequences of “original sin.”

The Currency Composition of Asia’s International Investments

The Currency Composition of Asia’s International Investments

Статистичний аналіз та прогнозування складових національного валютного ринку в умовах вторгнення рф в Україну

The article focuses on determining the impact of the consequences of the russian invasion of Ukraine on macroeconomic stability and the exchange rate of the national currency. The relevance of the chosen topic is substantiated. The problems of assessing the negative consequences of the russian invasion of Ukraine are outlined, including: violation of general macroeconomic stability, significant fluctuations in foreign exchange markets and destabilization of the national currency. The study considers the theoretical and methodological foundations of the study of foreign exchange markets and analyzes global trends in the development of the global currency market. The structure of world currency reserves is analyzed according to the assessment of the currency composition of the official currency reserve (COFER) of the IMF. The analysis of the dynamics of average spreads of purchase and sale of reserve currencies against the US dollar for traditional and non-traditional reserve currencies is carried out. As a result of studying world trends, the main factors that affect fluctuations in the exchange rate of currencies are identified. The main problems regarding the functioning of the national currency market in the context of the hostilities in Ukraine are outlined, in particular, the existing inflationary processes are analyzed. The dynamics of currency interventions of the NBU for 2021-2022 is considered. The features (advantages) of the application and the results of using the singular spectral analysis (SSA) method for predicting fluctuations in the US dollar and Euro in the national foreign exchange market are presented. The practical implementation of this method was carried out using the CaterpillarSSA software product. Evaluation of the accuracy of the forecast is performed using the MAPE method. The obtained forecast errors (less than 6%) suggest that the constructed models are adequate and can be used for further research and recommendations. Thus, it can be concluded that for Ukraine the most important factors affecting the exchange rate are seasonality and successful trade policy of the government, which, in turn, largely depends on resource prices. The carried out research allowed to highlight the features and main aspects of the functioning of the foreign exchange market of Ukraine during the period of ongoing military aggression.

Currency Compositions of International Reserves and the Euro Crisis

During recent years, central banks have increased the levels of their international reserves at an unprecedented pace. In this paper, we introduce new country-specific reserve data and examine determinants of the composition of international reserves. Using a dataset of 36 countries (and the euro area) for the years from 1996 to 2016, we identify currency pegs and trade patterns as determinants of currency compositions. Our results emphasize the importance of transaction motives for the composition of currency reserves. The euro crisis appears to have been a setback for the euro, which temporarily seemed to challenge the US dollar as the most important international reserve currency and potentially impacted the determination of international reserve compositions.

External Balance Sheets and the COVID-19 Crisis

At the onset of the COVID-19 economic crisis, as in other crisis episodes, we observed a rapid appreciation of “safe haven” currencies. We quantify currency-induced balance sheet valuation effects for aggregate external positions as well as for broadly defined asset classes for the first quarter and the full year 2020. To do so, we use new data on the currency composition of cross-border assets and liabilities for 46 countries. In contrast with past financial crises, many emerging markets did not experience losses on their aggregate external balance sheets despite facing a domestic currency depreciation. This was partly due to currency-induced valuation gains on equity positions offsetting losses on debt positions, and partly due to reduced currency mismatch on their external debt positions. We conduct the stock-flow reconciliation of net international investment positions to measure overall valuation effects and compute the proportion that is due to changes in currency values. For about half of the countries in our sample, currency-induced valuation effects were substantial, representing over 50 percent of total valuation effects in 2020Q1 and the full year 2020.

Debauchery and Original Sin: The Currency Composition of Sovereign Debt

AbstractWe present a model that accounts for the “mystery of original sin” and the surge in local-currency borrowing by emerging economies in the recent decade. We quantitatively investigate the currency composition of sovereign debt in the presence of two types of limited enforcement frictions arising from a government's monetary and debt policy: strategic currency debasement and default on sovereign debt. Local-currency debt obligations act as a better consumption hedge against income shocks than foreign-currency debt because their real value can be affected by monetary policy. However, this provides a government with more temptation to deviate from disciplined monetary policy, thus restricting borrowing in local currency more than in foreign currency. Our model predicts that a country with a less credible monetary policy borrows mainly in foreign currency as a substitute for monetary credibility. An important extension demonstrates that in the presence of an expectational Phillips curve, local-currency debt improves the ability of monetary policymakers to commit.

Optimal public debt composition during debt crises: A review of theoretical literature

AbstractThis study surveys the theoretical literature on the optimal public debt composition during sovereign debt crises. This survey is particularly relevant because sovereign debt crises have been recurrent manifestations over the past few decades, and there is growing evidence on the critical role of the composition of public debt portfolios during such events. Public debt composition refers to the characteristics of public debt portfolios, such as debt maturity, currency composition, and types of creditors. This survey adopts a broad definition of sovereign debt crisis, encompassing a post‐default phase when the crisis‐ridden country enters debt renegotiations and restructuring, and a pre‐default phase in which debtor countries either take a large non‐concessional loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to avoid debt default and restructuring or experience critically high bond spreads and default risk. This survey collects the dispersed literature on the theoretically optimal public debt composition choices from a sovereign borrower's perspective during both phases of the sovereign debt crisis. The surveyed theoretical literature reveals several trade‐offs underlying the sovereign's public debt composition choices during debt crises.

Sovereign Risk, Currency Risk, and Corporate Balance Sheets

AbstractWe provide a comprehensive account of the evolution of the currency composition of sovereign and corporate external borrowing by emerging markets from 2003 to 2017. We show that a higher reliance on foreign currency debt by the corporate sector is associated with higher sovereign default risk. We introduce local currency sovereign debt and private sector currency mismatch into a standard sovereign debt model to examine how the currency composition of corporate borrowing affects the sovereign’s incentive to inflate or default. A calibration of the model generates the empirical patterns of sovereign credit risk.

Trade Shocks and the Currency Composition of Corporate Debt

Trade Shocks and the Currency Composition of Corporate Debt

The Currency Composition Channel of Monetary Policy and the Role of Macroprudential Regulation

The Currency Composition Channel of Monetary Policy and the Role of Macroprudential Regulation

External debt currency denomination and the currency composition of foreign exchange reserves

External debt currency denomination and the currency composition of foreign exchange reserves

Estimating the Currency Composition of Foreign Exchange Reserves

Estimating the Currency Composition of Foreign Exchange Reserves

External Debt Currency Denomination and the Currency Composition of Foreign Exchange Reserves

External Debt Currency Denomination and the Currency Composition of Foreign Exchange Reserves

Redrawing the Map of Global Capital Flows: The Role of Cross-Border Financing and Tax Havens

AbstractGlobal firms finance themselves through foreign subsidiaries, often shell companies in tax havens, which obscures their true economic location in official statistics. We associate the universe of traded securities issued by firms in tax havens with their issuer's ultimate parent and restate bilateral investment positions to better reflect the financial linkages connecting countries around the world. Bilateral portfolio investment from developed countries to firms in large emerging markets is dramatically larger than previously thought. The national accounts of the United States, for example, understate the U.S. position in Chinese firms by nearly $600 billion. Further, we demonstrate how offshore issuance in tax havens affects our understanding of the currency composition of external portfolio liabilities and the nature of foreign direct investment. Finally, we provide additional restatements of bilateral investment positions, including one based on the geographic distribution of sales.

External Financing Risks: How Important is the Composition of the International Investment Position?

Building on the vast literature, this paper focuses on the role of the structure of the international investment position (IIP) in affecting countries' external vulnerabilities. Using a sample of 73 advanced and emerging economies and new database on the IIP's currency composition, we find that the size and structure of external liabilities and assets, especially with regards to currency denomination, matter in understanding balance-of-payments pressures. Specifically, and beyond the standard macroeconomic factors highlighted in other studies, higher levels of gross external debt increase the likelihood of an external crisis, while higher levels of foreign-currency-denominated external debt increase the likelihood of sudden stops. Foreign reserve assets play a mitigating role, although with diminishing returns, and the combination of flow and stock imbalances amplifies external risks, especially during periods of heightened global risk aversion. The results are especially strong for emerging economies, where the impact of flow and stock imbalances and foreign currency mismatches are larger and more robust across specifications.

External Financing Risks: How Important is the Composition of the International Investment Position?

Building on the vast literature, this paper focuses on the role of the structure of the international investment position (IIP) in affecting countries’ external vulnerabilities. Using a sample of 73 advanced and emerging economies and new database on the IIP’s currency composition, we find that the size and structure of external liabilities and assets, especially with regards to currency denomination, matter in understanding balance-of-payments pressures. Specifically, and beyond the standard macroeconomic factors highlighted in other studies, higher levels of gross external debt increase the likelihood of an external crisis, while higher levels of foreign-currency-denominated external debt increase the likelihood of sudden stops. Foreign reserve assets play a mitigating role, although with diminishing returns, and the combination of flow and stock imbalances amplifies external risks, especially during periods of heightened global risk aversion. The results are especially strong for emerging economies, where the impact of flow and stock imbalances and foreign currency mismatches are larger and more robust across specifications.