Role Of Macroprudential Policies Research Articles

MACROPRUDENTIAL POLICIES AND BANK RISK: DOES LANGUAGE MATTER?

The role of macroprudential policies (MPPs) in influencing bank behavior has expanded significantly in recent years. However, the evidence regarding the impact of MPPs in influencing bank behavior across countries with different Future time reference (FTR) of languages has not been adequately examined. To inform this debate, utilizing bank-level data during 2010–2019, we examine how MPPs affect bank return and risk across countries with varying FTR of languages. The findings show that using MPPs lowers risk in countries with strong FTR. This is manifest in baseline regressions as well as in robustness tests that incorporate additional dimensions of a country’s economic and institutional environment. Over and above, the results show that although borrower- and lender-focused macroprudential measures are equally effective, their efficacy differs, with the former set of instruments being more useful in Emerging Market and Developing Economies (EMDEs). In contrast, the latter holds greater traction in advanced economies.

The role of macroprudential policies under carbon pricing

This paper analyses the effectiveness of macroprudential policy on macro-financial fluctuations when the government enforces carbon pricing to reduce carbon emissions and achieve the net-zero target. A carbon tax policy alone can reduce carbon emissions by 2030, but at the cost of a deep and prolonged recession, with consequential financial instability due to a higher probability of default on entrepreneurs in the brown sector. This result suggests that carbon pricing should be coupled with complementary policies, such as macroprudential policy. In particular, differentiated LTV ratios and differentiated capital requirements that penalize the brown sector in favour of the green sector tend to decrease the probability of default in the green sector and encourage green lending in supporting the transition to a green economy. However, such policies have little contribution in offsetting the negative impact on the macroeconomy. More stringent levels of prudential regulations are needed to reduce the fall in GDP and consumption. More specifically, the “one-for-one” prudential capital requirements on fossil fuel financing can effectively reduce defaults and move to a greener economy.

The role of macroprudential policy in reducing liquidity risk in Egypt

The role of macroprudential policy in reducing liquidity risk in Egypt

Global capital flows and the role of macroprudential policy

Can countercyclical bank capital buffers reduce the negative effects of global liquidity shocks? We use the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy as a natural experiment to document the role of the banking system as a transmission channel of global financial disturbances to the real economy. Using central bank administrative data, our results suggest that in the aftermath of the Lehman collapse the banking channel is responsible for 1.44% of the aggregate drop in investment and 0.58% of the drop in aggregate employment. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of counter-cyclical macroprudential policies, we model an open-economy with a banking sector. We compare the drop in actual GDP during the 2008 financial crisis against the counterfactual GDP had Basel III style counter-cyclical capital buffers (CCyB) been in place. We find that the GDP drop in the counterfactual scenario would have been 6 p.p. lower than in the data. We also demonstrate the beneficial effects of the CCyB in mitigating tail risk (GDP at Risk). We show that, over a 3–5 year horizon, the GDP distribution with an operational CCyB would have a higher mean and a much thinner left tail when compared to an economy without a CCyB.

The Role of Macroprudential Policy in Reducing Liquidity Risk in Egypt

The Role of Macroprudential Policy in Reducing Liquidity Risk in Egypt

The Volatility Lowering Effects of Capital Controls

The evidence that capital controls adversely affect cross-border trade is debatable. This study shows that capital controls may support international trade by mitigating the negative effect of macroeconomic volatility. We use quarterly data from a sample of 25 emerging countries over the period 2011–2019. Using long- and short-standing capital control dynamic panel models, and diversifying robust estimation techniques, our results show that capital controls alleviate the adverse effects of the exchange rate, interest rate differential, and inflation volatilities. The long-lasting capital controls (walls) are more effective than short-lasting capital controls (gates). Besides, the effects of these controls are asymmetric regarding the financial development level and category of flows. The study highlights the beneficial role of macroprudential policy in supporting capital control actions. The results of this study have two main policy implications, the effectiveness of “walls” controls and the importance of macroeconomic policy coordination.

The effectiveness of macro-prudential policies in the face of global uncertainty –the role of exchange-rate regimes

The paper analyses the effects of world uncertainty on the level of domestic credit growth rate and the role of macro-prudential policies (Mapps) in mitigating these effects in a panel of 33 countries under different exchange rate regimes. A higher level of world uncertainty decreases the level of domestic credit under both fixed- and flexible-exchange rate regimes, but these spill-over effects are higher for countries with fixed-exchange rate regimes. The Mapps have a significant impact on financial conditions and help to achieve long-term financial stability, but only for countries under the flexible-exchange regime. It remains completely ineffective for the fixed-exchange economies.

The Role of Macroprudential Policy in Bank Housing Loans Portfolio Quality Assurance

AbstractThe subject of this paper is the contemporary trend in residential real estate markets in European countries and their impact on the quality of banks’ housing loan portfolios. Due to the fact that these are the markets that still have not fully recovered from the previous financial crisis, and at the time of writing were exposed to significant uncertainty related to the effects of specific business conditions caused by COVID-19, the research on the risks related to these markets and tools which can mitigate their consequences are of paramount importance. Given the fact that the importance of monitoring the emergence of systemic risks in the financial system and the design of macroprudential tools for Bosnia and Herzegovina is yet to come, one of the aims of the paper is to present the results of the research on the effectiveness of certain macroprudential policy measures for mitigating the impact of price fluctuations in residential real estate markets. A special attention is paid to the challenges that the real estate market and mortgage loans have been facing during the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The paper provides a basis for future researches examining to which extent the applied macroprudential policy measures in some countries have been effective in hitherto unprecedented business conditions

Drivers of Financial Access: The Role of Macroprudential Policies

This study analyzes the drivers of the use of formal vs. informal financial services in emerging and developing countries using the 2017 Global FINDEX data. In particular, we investigate whether individuals' choice of financial services correlates with macro-financial and macro-structural policies and conditions, in addition to individual and country characteristics. We start our analysis on middle and low-income countries, and then zoom in on sub-Saharan Africa, currently the region that most relies on informal financial services, and which has the largest uptake of mobile banking. We find robust evidence of an association between macroprudential policies and individuals' choice of financial access after controlling for personal and country-level characteristics. In particular, macroprudential policies aimed at controlling credit supply seem to be associated with greater resort to informal financial services compared with formal, bank-based access. This highlights the importance for central bankers and financial sector regulators to consider the potential spillovers of monetary policy and financial stability measures on financial inclusion.

On the Impact of Financial Inclusion on Financial Stability and Inequality: The Role of Macroprudential Policies

Financial Inclusion - access to financial products by households and firms - is one of the main albeit challenging priorities, both for Advanced Economies (AEs) as well as Emerging Markets (EMs), even more so for the latter. Financial inclusion facilitates consumption smoothing, lowers income inequality, enables risk diversification, and tends to positively affect economic growth. Financial stability is another rising priority among policy makers. This is evident in the re-emergence of macroprudential policies after the global financial crisis, minimizing systemic risk, particularly risks associated with rapid credit growth. However, there are significant policy tradeoffs that could exist between both financial inclusion and financial stability, with mixed evidence on the link between the two objectives. Given the importance of macroprudential policies as a toolbox to achieve financial stability, we examine the impact of macroprudential policies on financial inclusion - a potential cause for financial instability if not carefully implemented. Using panel regressions for 67 countries over the period 2000-2014, our results point to mixed effects of macroprudential policies. The usage (and tightening) of some tools, such as the debt-to-income ratio, appear to reduce financial inclusion whereas others, such as the required reserve ratio (RRR), increase it. Specifically, both institutional quality and financial development appear to increase the effectiveness of macroprudential policies on financial inclusion. Institutional quality helps macroprudential policies boost financial inclusion, with mixed effects as a result of financial development, but the results are more significant when we include either institutional quality or financial development. This leads us to believe that macroprudential policies conditional on better institutional quality and financial development improves financial inclusion. This has important policy implications for financial stability.

The Wealthy Hand-to-Mouth Households in South Korea

This study establishes the stylized facts on household balance sheets in South Korea and empirically investigates their macroeconomic implications based on the concept of ‘wealthy hand-to-mouth (HtM)’ households that hold little liquid wealth with owning large amount of illiquid assets. Using a household-level panel data for the period of 2000–2014, we find that (1) there are neither deleveraging of household debts nor a sharp decline in house price even during the financial crisis, (2) run-up in household debt in 2000s is led by high-income group, (3) regardless of net worth level, wealth is highly concentrated on illiquid assets such as housing and real estate, (4) the share of wealthy HtM households is very high compared to the cases of other advanced countries. We estimate the marginal propensity to consume out of a transitory shock and find that the consumption response of HtM households is larger compared to the non-credit-constrained group, posing a threat to macroeconomic stability. Using discrete choice models with fixed effects, we also find that a household that acquire more real estate assets is more likely to become wealthy HtM when its income is relatively lower or its indebtedness is relatively higher. We discuss the characteristics of HtM households and the role of macroprudential policy.

Increasing Resilience to Large and Volatile Capital Flows—The Role of Macroprudential Policies

Capital flows can deliver substantial benefits for countries, but also have the potential to contribute to a buildup of systemic financial risk. Benefits, such as enhanced investment and consumption smoothing, tend to be greater for countries whose financial and institutional development enables them to intermediate capital flows safely. Post-crisis reforms, including the development of macroprudential policies (MPPs), are helping to strengthen the resilience of financial systems including to shocks from capital flows. The Basel III process has improved the quality and level of capital, reduced leverage, and increased liquid asset holdings in financial systems. Drawing on and complementing such international reforms at the national level, robust macroprudential policy frameworks focused on mitigating systemic risk can improve the capacity of a financial system to safely intermediate cross-border flows. Macroprudential frameworks can play an important role over the capital flow cycle, and help members harness the benefits of capital flows. Introducing macroprudential measures (MPMs) preemptively can increase the resilience of the financial system to aggregate shocks, including those arising from capital inflows, and can contain the build-up of systemic vulnerabilities over time, even when such measures are not designed to limit capital flows. While the risks from capital outflows should be handled primarily by macroeconomic policies, a relaxation of MPMs may assist, as long as buffers are in place, in countering financial stresses from outflows. Capital flow liberalization should be supported by broad efforts to strengthen prudential regulation and supervision, including macroprudential policy frameworks. The Fund has two frameworks to help ensure that its advice on MPPs and policies related to capital flows is consistent and tailored to country circumstances. The frameworks (the Macroprudential framework and the Institutional View on capital flows) are consistent in terms of key principles, including avoiding using MPMs and capital flow management measures (CFMs) as a substitute for necessary macroeconomic adjustment. The appropriate classification of measures is important to ensure targeted advice consistent with the two frameworks. The conceptual framework for the assessment of measures laid out in this paper will assist staff in properly identifying MPMs and measures that are designed to limit capital flows and to reduce systemic financial risk stemming from such flows (CFM/MPMs), and thereby ensure the appropriate application of the Fund’s frameworks, so that staff policy advice is consistent and well targeted. The Fund will continue to develop and share expertise in using MPMs, and integrate these findings into its surveillance and technical assistance, which should contribute to building international understanding and experience on these issues.

Macroprudential policies, crisis and risk-taking

Purpose– The role of macroprudential policies (MPPs) in influencing bank risk-taking has recently attracted significant attention in the literature. Several studies have emerged, both at the cross-country level as well as at the level of individual countries that have examined this issue. However, whether and to what extent do MPPs affect risk-taking by Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) banks has not been investigated in prior empirical research. Toward this end, using data during 1996-2010, the author examines the impact of MPPs on risk-taking by GCC banks. The author considers the entire gamut of MPPs – those focused on credit, capital and liquidity – and how they impact bank risk.Design/methodology/approach– In view of the possible endogeneity between the dependent variables and the crucial independent variable (i.e. MPP), the paper uses advanced panel data techniques that address this endogeneity. Toward this end, the author uses dynamic panel data methodology to examine the interlinkage between bank risk taking and MPPs for GCC banks.Findings– The findings appear to suggest that although MPPs are useful, not all of them are equally effective in containing the potential build-up of financial stress. Viewed from this standpoint, it appears that capital adequacy ratios and reserve requirements are the ones with maximum efficacy in limiting potential build-up of risks. Classifying the MPPs as per their impact on major balance sheet variables, the results indicate that capital-related measures tend to exert the greatest impact on credit.Originality/value– A significant volume of literature has emerged in recent years that examine the efficacy of MPPs on bank risk-taking. Notwithstanding available cross-country research, limited analysis on this aspect in the context of GCC banks. Toward this end, an extended sample of GCC banks has been used to examine this issue. To the best of the author’s knowledge, this is one of the earliest studies for GCC banking systems to examine this issue.

Managing Capital Flows in Asia: An Overview of Key Issues

Global capital flows into emerging markets, including those in Asia, continue to be volatile. These capital flows generate both benefits and costs. The latter are associated with episodes of currency and banking crises like the 1997 Asian financial crisis and the 2008 global financial and economic crisis. Policy responses can be implemented to minimize the costs. At the same time, policy responses should vary depending on whether “pull” factors or “push” factors dominate the capital flows. Data show that the main impact of capital flows on economies of East Asia is reflected in real effective exchange rates, equity prices, and accumulation of foreign exchange reserves. If “pull” factors are dominant, policy makers should allow real exchange rates to appreciate in the long-term. Three broad categories of macroeconomic measures are available to countries facing surges of capital inflows, if they are not willing to allow the nominal exchange rate to appreciate: (i) sterilized intervention, (ii) greater exchange rate flexibility, and (iii) fiscal tightening (preferably through expenditure cuts). However, all of them have major drawbacks. Instead, capital controls or, more generally, macroprudential policy can be considered. Other policy recommendations include measures to encourage foreign direct investment, as this type of capital flow is more stable and beneficial; exchange rate coordination to reduce the adverse impacts of currency appreciation on the global competitiveness of domestic firms; and regional financial cooperation, particularly in the development of local bond markets. Recent data show the adverse impact of Quantitative Easing tapering on Asian economies. This is verified by econometric results showing the strong linkages between the United States bond markets and those in Asia. These findings enhance the role of macroprudential policy, which can be implemented in the context of regional cooperation in order to reduce negative spillovers across economies in Asia.