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Business and Economics > Insurance

You are looking at 1 - 9 of 9 items for :

  • Type: Journal Issue x
  • Housing; Prices x
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Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Republic of Korea: Financial Sector Assessment Program-Technical Note-Systemic Risk Analysis, Financial Sector Stress Testing, and an Assessment of Demographic Shift in Korea
International Monetary Fund. Monetary and Capital Markets Department
This note presents the systemic risk analysis conducted for the Republic of Korea in the course of the 2019 Korea FSAP. It comprises a forward-looking solvency analysis for banks, insurers, and pension funds, a liquidity stress test for banks, and an assessment of network and interconnectedness for a wide range of financial sector entities and their ties to the real economy. Various structural characteristics of Korea’s economy and its financial system informed the features and focus for its forward-looking risk analysis. They include Korea’s strong export orientation, limited diversification, and its key role as a node in regional and international supply chains. Korea’s financial system has grown by 40 percentage points of GDP since 2013, enhancing the importance of a deep financial sector analysis as conducted through the FSAP. Mortgage insurance schemes are widely used—which was reflected in the way the risk assessment for banks was conducted. Korea’s life and non-life insurance sector is large, highly concentrated and saturated. Fintech developments keep accelerating, in terms of its Open Banking system and e-money providers. Demographic developments in Korea are among the most adverse world-wide, implying a continuous drag on demand, downward pressure on interest rates, financial firms’ income, and hence their capitalization unless they will be altering their business models.
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; financial system; sensitivity analysis; balance sheet; banking system; central bank; credit risk; housing market; return on assets; sovereign bond; bond yield; real GDP; market structure; solvency analysis; Insurance; Loans; Stress testing; Commercial banks; Insurance companies; Global
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Republic of Korea: Financial System Stability Assessment and Press Release for the Republic of Korea
International Monetary Fund. Monetary and Capital Markets Department
This paper presents Financial System Stability Assessment (FSSA) with the Republic of Korea. The Korean authorities have continued their efforts at upgrading the prudential, legal, and supervisory framework for the financial sector, and keeping up with international standards and practices in other G20 jurisdictions. The authorities have been strengthening the system with micro and macroprudential measures against vulnerabilities, strengthening the crisis management framework, and upgrading the prudential and legal framework. The FSSA suggests moving toward a more forward-looking monitoring and systemic risk identification mechanism. The reliability of various stress tests could be augmented with advanced methods, system-wide monitoring, and testing the overall leverage related to residential properties, households’ resilience to adverse shocks, and sovereign contingent liabilities. Stronger focus is required on systemic risks emanating from securities market activities that can amplify contagion, including sudden redemption and liquidity pressures in the funds and asset management industry.
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; Korea's financial system; bank; holding company; onshore financial markets; exchange rate; central bank; Commercial banks; Financial sector stability; Insurance; Loans; Liquidity; Global; Asia and Pacific
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Canada: Financial System Stability Assessment
International Monetary Fund. Monetary and Capital Markets Department
This Financial System Stability Assessment paper discusses that Canada has enjoyed favorable macroeconomic outcomes over the past decades, and its vibrant financial system continues to grow robustly. However, macrofinancial vulnerabilities—notably, elevated household debt and housing market imbalances—remain substantial, posing financial stability concerns. Various parts of the financial system are directly exposed to the housing market and/or linked through housing finance. The financial system would be able to manage severe macrofinancial shocks. Major deposit-taking institutions would remain resilient, but mortgage insurers would need additional capital in a severe adverse scenario. Housing finance is broadly resilient, notwithstanding some weaknesses in the small non-prime mortgage lending segment. Although banks’ overall capital buffers are adequate, additional required capital for mortgage exposures, along with measures to increase risk-based differentiation in mortgage pricing, would be desirable. This would help ensure adequate through-the cycle buffers, improve mortgage risk-pricing, and limit procyclical effects induced by housing market corrections.
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; housing market; financial system; credit risk; government bond; capital ratio; IMF staff estimate; real GDP; foreign currency; mortgage lending; Mortgages; Housing prices; Insurance; Insurance companies; Systemic risk; Global
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Sweden: Financial System Stability Assessment
International Monetary Fund. Monetary and Capital Markets Department
This paper discusses the findings of the Financial System Stability Assessment for Sweden. The Swedish financial system is large and highly interconnected, putting a premium on the accompanying policy framework. Relative to the size of the domestic economy, the financial system is among Europe’s largest. It features complex domestic and international linkages, reflecting Sweden’s role as a regional financial hub. However, the macrofinancial risks have grown since 2011, for example the rising share of highly indebted households. Stress tests also suggest that banks and nonbanks are largely resilient to solvency shocks, but concerns persist about the ability of bank models to capture unexpected losses.
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; bank; asset; return on equity; bank assets; cross holdings; foreign currency; financial system; hurdle rate; asset liquidation; household assets; assets pro-rata; Housing prices; Stress testing; Financial sector stability; Covered bonds; Insurance; Global; Europe
Cover IMF Working Papers
With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility: Macroprudential Tools at Work in Canada
Mr. Ivo Krznar
and
Mr. James Morsink
The goal of this paper is to assess the effectiveness of the policy measures taken by Canadian authorities to address the housing boom. We find that the the last three rounds of macroprudential policies implemented since 2010 were associated with lower mortgage credit growth and house price growth. The international experience suggests that—in addition to tighter loan-to-value limits and shorter amortization periods—lower caps on the debt-to-income ratio and higher risk weights could be effective if the housing boom were to reignite. Over the medium term, the authorities could consider structural measures to further improve the soundness of housing finance.
Keywords:
WP; mortgage; LTV; loan; LTV ratio; housing market; mortgage insurance; macroprudential regulation; risk weight; mortgage credit; housing loan; guarantee cover; Mortgages; Loans; Housing prices; Housing; Credit; Global
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Canada: 2013 Article IV Consultation
International Monetary Fund. Western Hemisphere Dept.
This Informational Annex highlights the Canadian authorities’ free-floating exchange rate regime. The exchange rate regime is free from exchange restrictions and multiple currency practices. The Canadian authorities do not maintain margins with respect to exchange transactions. However, the authorities may intervene to ensure orderly conditions in the exchange market. There are no taxes or subsidies on purchases or sales of foreign exchange. Canada’s exchange system is free of restrictions on the making of payments and transfers for current international transactions. Canada also maintains exchange restrictions for security reasons, based on UN Security Council resolutions reported to the IMF for approval.
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; staff appraisal; investment outlook; sales expectation; stability assessment; IMF staff estimate; Mortgages; Housing prices; Health care spending; Insurance; Exports; Global
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Canada: 2012 Article IV Consultation
International Monetary Fund. Western Hemisphere Dept.
After recovering rapidly from the Great Recession, the Canadian economy has slowed down in 2012. Growth weakened in the first three quarters of 2012, and recent indicators have suggested that the pace of economic expansion remained subpar in the fourth quarter. The fiscal policy has continued to be a drag on growth, as the stimulus is being withdrawn. These have been only partly offset by an improvement in financial conditions in 2012. Growth is expected to gain new momentum over 2013.
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; government; economy; Canada; government Finance Statistics Manual; housing sector; stability assessment; market expectation; IMF staff estimate; household leverage; X. exchange rate arrangement; Housing prices; Insurance; Fiscal stance; Global
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Kingdom of Netherlands: Netherlands: Financial System Stability Assessment
International Monetary Fund
The Netherlands has been heavily affected by the global financial crisis. The “Twin Peaks” supervision model, with Netherlands Central Bank - De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) as the prudential supervisor, and the Authority for Financial Markets (AFM) responsible for conduct-of-business supervision, was severely tested, although the case for the model remains strong. The crisis has shown that these institutions bring sizable risks, which requires careful and comprehensive monitoring and supervision. The findings of the Financial Stability Assessment Program (FSAP) are summarized. Top-down stress tests were conducted. Supervisory colleges are an important innovation to reinforce home-host coordination for supervisors of large complex financial institutions (LCFIs).
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; bank resolution operation; insolvent bank; restructuring transaction; financial system; interest rate; holding company; bank resolution; central bank; bank access; pension line; Pension spending; Insurance; Bank resolution; Housing prices; Financial sector stability; Global; Europe
Cover IMF Working Papers
Irrational Exuberance in the U.S. Housing Market: Were Evangelicals Left Behind?
Mr. Christopher W. Crowe
The recent housing bust has reignited interest in psychological theories of speculative excess (Shiller, 2007). I investigate this issue by identifying a segment of the U.S. population-evangelical protestants-that may be less prone to speculative motives, and uncover a significant negative relationship between their population share and house price volatility. Evangelicals' focus on Biblical prophecy could account for this difference, since it may enable them to interpret otherwise negative events as containing positive news, dampening the response of house prices to shocks. I provide evidence for this channel using a popular internet measure of "prophetic activity" and a 9/11 event study. I also analyze survey data covering religious beliefs and asset holding, and find that 'end times' beliefs are associated with a one-third decline in net worth, consistent with these beliefs providing a form of psychic insurance (Scheve and Stasavage, 2006a and 2006b) that reduces asset demand.
Keywords:
WP; standard deviation; house prices; economics of Religion; asset price cycles; share of evangelical; dependent variable; growth series; price appreciation; population share; price volatility; evangelical area; Housing prices; Housing; Asset bubbles; Insurance; Middle East; Global