Financial Vulnerability Indicator Research Articles

The impact of macroprudential policies on the transmission of shocks across financially integrated countries

AbstractWe study the implications of macroprudential policies across countries on the transmission of shocks when international investment activities are allowed. In a two‐country dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) model in which international investors are borrowing constrained and pledge international assets, we introduce a time‐varying loan‐to‐value (LTV) ratio that adjusts to the variation of three different financial vulnerability indicators. We examine the effect of these policies on negative productivity and borrowing capacity shocks. Although time‐varying LTV ratios reduce the international propagation of the productivity shock, their response to the shock depends on the financial vulnerability indicator with which the LTV ratio changes. With a productivity shock, the adjustment of the LTV ratio to the deviation of credit or asset price helps to reverse the negative impact of the shock. With a financial shock, LTV ratios varying with a deviation of credit‐to‐GDP ratio or aggregate credit can mitigate the impact of a negative financial shock. Adjustment of the LTV ratios reduces the fluctuation of international investors' balance sheets, investment, and productivity. We find that countries improve their welfare when time‐varying LTV ratios are in place. The magnitude of the welfare gain differs with both the financial vulnerability indicator and the shock.

Debt, Financial Vulnerability, and Repayment Behaviour in Older Canadian Households

Earlier research has documented that debt at older ages has increased significantly in Canada over the period from 1999 to 2016. In this article, I explore the consequences of a growing proportion of older Canadian households experiencing financial vulnerability. After controlling for household characteristics, I find among older households that a high debt-to-asset ratio and very low liquid wealth are significantly and positively associated with skipping or delaying a mortgage or non-mortgage debt payment and with usually paying the minimum amount or less on credit cards in the previous year. The debt-to-income ratio, however, is not an important indicator of financial vulnerability for older households.

MACROECONOMIC PERSPECTIVE ON CONSTRUCTING FINANCIAL VULNERABILITY INDICATOR IN CHINA

This paper attempts to develop a financial vulnerability indicator for China as a barometer for the state of financial vulnerability in the Chinese financial market, possibly for real-time application. Twelve variables from different sectors are utilised to extract a common vulnerability component using a dynamic approximate factor model. Through the implementation of a Markovswitching Bayesian vector autoregression (MSBVAR) model, the empirical results indicate that a high-vulnerability episode is associated with substantially lower economic activity, but a low-vulnerability episode does not incur substantial changes in economic activity. Notably, the constructed indicator can serve as a real-time early warning system to signify vulnerabilities in the Chinese financial market.

Financial Vulnerability and Economic Dynamics in Malaysia

Abstract This study attempts to develop a financial vulnerability indicator serving as a composite indicator for the state of financial vulnerability. The indicator was constructed from 10 variables of macroeconomic, financial and property market by extracting a common vulnerability component through the dynamic approximate factor model. On the feedback and amplification effects, the outcome revealed that financial vulnerability shock catalysed significant negative effects on economic activity in a high-vulnerability regime, while the impact was negligible in periods of low vulnerability. This study highlighted the usefulness of composite indicators as an early warning mechanism to gauge vulnerabilities in the Malaysian financial system.

Predicting Financial Vulnerability in Malaysia: Evidence From the Signals Approach

This paper aims to investigate Malaysia’s vulnerability to a financial crisis. The methodology employed is an extension of the signals approach based on the original work of Kaminsky and Reinhart (1999). By studying the period from 2000M1 to 2016M9, we construct a financial vulnerability indicator (FVI) to measure the development of vulnerabilities in the Malaysian financial system. Our empirical findings unveil that the causes of crises are multidimensional. Notably, economic slowdown, decline in stock price and weak exports contain good predictive power in assessing financial vulnerability to a crisis. This study highlights the significance of internal and external macroeconomic conditions in determining a country’s vulnerability.

Household Wealth & the Net International Investment Position

Aggregate household wealth dynamics are closely associated with fluctuations of the economy. However, the linkages between household wealth dynamics and cross-border financial holdings have remained unexamined. Thanks to the recent assembly of an essential dataset, this paper assesses these co-movements in selected advanced economies. We establish that increases in net household wealth are associated with deteriorations of the Net International Investment Position (NIIP). This pattern is primarily driven by valuation changes in wealth (mostly through house price appreciation). Overall, we find that capital gains on household wealth are strongly related to the accumulation of net external debt liabilities, a key indicator of financial vulnerability.

Assessing Thailand’s financial vulnerability: An early warning approach

This paper intends to assess financial vulnerability in Thailand through the construction of a financial vulnerability indicator (FVI). This early warning system has been developed using the signals approach proposed by Kaminsky and Reinhart (1999), followed by composite indicator construction. The period under study spans from January 2000 through to December 2016. Our empirical findings indicate that exports has the lowest noise-to-signal ratio (0.13), followed by real GDP (0.15) and house price index (0.20). These suggest that financial crises are usually preceded by a weakening in exports, a slowdown in the economy and a decline in house price. For Thailand, four major financial episodes are successfully outlined during the study period, demonstrating the effectiveness of an early warning system in financial vulnerability forecasting.

Personal Over-indebtedness in Croatia and Measures for its Reduction

Abstract The robust growth in household debt in pre-crisis period coincided with real growth in household disposable income, large economic expansion and a considerable fall in banks’ interest rates. However, household debt indicators deteriorated markedly as total household debt grew faster than income. This raised concerns about potential implications of an additional increase in the debt burden on financial stability. An analysis of household debt based exclusively on data aggregated at the sector level is not a best financial vulnerability indicator as it fails to provide insight into the distribution of debt and credit risk by individual household groups. The text explains the problems with personal over-indebtedness in Croatia and measures for their reduction.

A New Cluster-Based Financial Vulnerability Indicator and Its Application to Household Stress Testing in Croatia

:In this paper, we propose a new approach to household financial vulnerability analysis employing cluster technique in the identification of potentially vulnerable households. The cluster-based vulnerability indicator is applied to stress testing with the specific aim of assessing the extent to which the prolonged economic downturn following the Great Recession of 2008–9 hurt indebted households in Croatia. We compare the results based on the new approach with those based on traditional methods. Interest rate shocks have a stronger effect on household vulnerability in the traditional approach, whereas decrease in employment is found to be more disruptive in the cluster-based approach.

Household financial vulnerability: An empirical analysis

Using survey data, we investigate household financial distress. Specifically, we propose an indicator of financial vulnerability to jointly analyse different features of household financial distress, analysing its socio-demographic and economic determinants. A total number of 3102 Italian households make up the sample.The empirical analysis highlights that for the median level of the financial vulnerability index households already exhibit some important symptoms of financial vulnerability, such as problems in getting to the end of the month or an inability to face unexpected expenses. As regards the determinants of the financial vulnerability index, three findings need to be pointed out. First, the level of debt servicing is positively related to financial vulnerability and the effect is stronger for households holding unsecured debt, i.e. consumer credit. Second, financial vulnerability also increases for impulsive individuals, who may adopt impatient, short-sighted behaviour patterns which make it difficult for them to be fully aware of the consequences of their financial and spending decisions. Third, a higher level of education helps to reduce financial fragility.

Household Financial Vulnerability: An Empirical Analysis

Using survey data, we investigate household financial distress. Specifically, we propose an indicator of financial vulnerability to jointly analyze different features of household financial distress, analyzing its socio-demographic and economic determinants. A total number of 3,102 Italian households make up the sample. The empirical analysis highlights that for the median level of the financial vulnerability index households already exhibit some important symptoms of financial vulnerability, such as problems in getting to the end of the month or an inability to face unexpected expenses. As regards the determinants of the financial vulnerability index, three findings need to be pointed out. First, the level of debt servicing is positively related to financial vulnerability and the effect is stronger for households holding unsecured debt, i.e. consumer credit. Second, financial vulnerability also increases for impulsive individuals, who may adopt impatient, short-sighted behavior patterns which make it difficult for them to be fully aware of the consequences of their financial and spending decisions. Third, a higher level of education helps to reduce financial fragility.

Sovereign Debt Defaults and Financing Needs

We construct a financial vulnerability indicator that is consistent with the theoretical literature on determinants of defaults. It is based on the amount of new foreign financing that is needed to avoid a default or an import adjustment, expressed as a proportion of the country's sources of foreign currency. As the need for new foreign financing increases, so does a country's financial vulnerability. The indicator has a higher correlation with default episodes than other indicators used in previous studies. In addition, the level at which it leads to a high probability of default is comparable across countries.