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Europe > Switzerland

You are looking at 1 - 10 of 66 items for :

  • Type: Journal Issue x
  • Monetary Systems; Standards; Regimes; Government and the Monetary System; Payment Systems x
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Cover IMF Working Papers
Digital Tokens: A Legal Perspective
Mr. José M. Garrido
Tokens are units digitally represented in a distributed ledger or blockchain. The various uses of this technology have the potential to transform a wide array of economic activities, from traditional commercial transactions to sophisticated financial undertakings. This paper explores the similarities and differences of tokens with traditional legal instruments in commercial law and how tokens could offer superior solutions, provided that proper legal foundations are established for their operation, including aspects of the law of securities and consumer protection law.
Keywords:
Tokens; Commercial Law; Securities Law; Fintech; Consumer Protection; token taxonomy; non-fungible token; del Mercado de Valores; digital signature; token offering; aspects of the law of securities; Securities; Blockchain and DLT; Smart contracts; Virtual currencies; Securities regulation; Global
Cover Policy Papers
The Rise of Public and Private Digital Money: A Strategy to Continue Delivering on The IMF’s Mandate
International Monetary Fund
Following the companion paper on the new policy challenges related to the adoption of digital forms of money, this paper presents an operational strategy for the IMF to continue delivering on its mandate of ensuring domestic and international financial and economic stability. The paper begins by summarizing the forces driving the adoption of digital forms of money, and the new policy questions that emerge. It then focusses on how the IMF’s core activities and output will need to evolve, including surveillance, capacity development, and analytical foundations. It ends by discusses how the IMF intends to partner with other organization, and to grow and structure internal resources to fulfill this vision.
Keywords:
digital money adoption; IMF surveillance; core activity; IMF's mandate; Policy question; Digital currencies; Financial sector stability; Financial Sector Assessment Program; International monetary system; Central Bank digital currencies; Global
Cover IMF Working Papers
Dirty Money: Does the Risk of Infectious Disease Lower Demand for Cash?
Mr. Serhan Cevik
The coronavirus pandemic is a global crisis like no other in modern times, and there is a growing apprehension about handling potentially contaminated cash. This paper is the first empirical attempt in the literature to investigate whether the risk of infectious diseases affects demand for physical cash. Since the intensity of cash use may influence the spread of infectious diseases, this paper utilizes two-stage least squares (2SLS) methodology with instrumental variable (IV) to address omitted variable bias and account for potential endogeneity. The analysis indicates that the spread of infectious diseases lowers demand for physical cash, after controlling for macroeconomic, financial, and technological factors. While the transactional constraints imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic could become a catalyst for the use of digital technologies around the world, electronic payment methods may not be universally available in every country owing to financial and technological bottlenecks.
Keywords:
Demand for cash; currency-in-circulation; digital money; infectious diseases; WP; cash use; handling cash; cash transfer; store of value; infectious-disease outbreak; payment method; coronavirus pandemic; Communicable diseases; Currencies; COVID-19; Deposit rates; Ebola; Global
Cover International Monetary Fund Annual Report 2020 Financial Statements
International Monetary Fund Annual Report 2020 Financial Statements
International Monetary Fund. Secretary's Department

Abstract

The audited consolidated financial statements of the International Monetary Fund as of April 30, 2020 and 2019

Keywords:
exchange rate risk; audit evidence; fair value; SDR position; reserve account; net income; SDR basket currency; net cash; fixed income; Financial statements; Currencies; Credit risk; Credit; Loans; Global; Africa; Middle East and Central Asia; Western Hemisphere; Asia and Pacific
Cover IMF Working Papers
Public Debt and r - g at Risk
Weicheng Lian
,
Mr. Andrea F Presbitero
, and
Ursula Wiriadinata
As interest rate-growth differentials (r-g) turned negative in many countries, governments consider pursuing fiscal expansion and the potential risks involved. Using a large sample of advanced and emerging economies, our analysis suggests that high public debts can lead to adverse future r-g dynamics. Specifically, countries with higher initial public debt experience (i) a shorter duration of negative r-g episodes and a higher probability of reversal, (ii) higher average r-g, and (iii) a more right-skewed r-g distribution, that implies higher down-side risks. Furthermore, high-debt countries experience larger increases in interest rates in response to (iv) an unexpected decline in domestic output and (v) an increase of global volatility. Results are stronger when public debts are denominated in foreign currencies.
Keywords:
WP; interest rate-growth differential; debt country; interest-rate response; interest rates environment; U.S. dollar; Public debt; Interest rate-growth differential; Shocks; Fiscal policy; Foreign currency debt; FX share group; public debt-to-GDP; Long term interest rates; Currencies; Global
Cover Global Financial Stability Report, April 2020
Global Financial Stability Report, April 2020
Markets in the Time of COVID-19
International Monetary Fund. Monetary and Capital Markets Department

Abstract

The April 2020 Global Financial Stability Report (GFSR) assesses the financial stability challenges posed by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Chapter 1 describes how financial conditions tightened abrubtly with the onset of the pandemic, with risk asset prices dropping sharply as investors rushed to safety and liquidity. It finds that a further tightening of financial conditions may expose vulnerabilities, including among nonbank financial institutions, and that bank resilience may be tested if economic and financial market stresses rise. Vulnerabilities in global risky corporate credit markets, including weakened credit quality of borrowers, looser underwriting standards, liquidity risks at investment funds, and increased interconnectedness, could generate losses at nonbank financial institutions in a severe adverse scenario, as discussed in Chapter 2. The pandemic led to an unprecedented and sharp reversal of portfolio flows, highlighting the challenges of managing flows in emerging and frontier markets. Chapter 3 shows that global financial conditions tend to influence portfolio flows more during surges than in normal times, that stronger domestic fundamentals can help mitigate outflows, and that greater foreign participation in local currency bond markets may increase price volatility where domestic markets lack depth. Beyond the immediate challenges of COVID-19, Chapter 4 explores the profitability pressures that banks are likely to face over the medium term in an environment where low interest rates are expected to persist. Chapter 5 takes a broader perspective on physical risks associated with climate change. It finds that these risks do not appear to be reflected in global equity valuations and that stress testing and better disclosure of exposures to climatic hazards are essential to better assess physical risk.

Keywords:
GFSR; debt; emerging market; bank; policy; market; equity investor; equity price; leveraged loan; portfolio flow; commercial paper; Emerging and frontier financial markets; Credit; Natural disasters; Climate change; Global; North America; Africa
Cover International Monetary Fund Annual Report 2019 Financial Statements
International Monetary Fund Annual Report 2019 Financial Statements
International Monetary Fund

Abstract

The audited consolidated financial statements of the International Monetary Fund as of April 30, 2019 and 2018

Keywords:
AR; AREA; financial statement; International Monetary Fund; interest rate; financial instrument; fair value; fixed income; financial year; credit risk; exchange rate risk; Financial statements; Currencies; Personal income; Credit; Global; Africa; Middle East; Middle East and Central Asia; Asia and Pacific; Western Hemisphere; reserve account; pound sterling; People's Bank of China Administered Account; audit evidence
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Switzerland: Selected Issues
International Monetary Fund. European Dept.
This Selected Issues paper on Switzerland models the evolving behavior of the Swiss franc relative to the world’s major reserve currencies and considers possible reasons for the shifts. Economic fundamentals, including country-partners and currency of denomination of Swiss trade and finance, are likely to affect which currencies the franc co-moves with, although these factors tend to change only slowly. The behavior of the Swiss franc may have also been affected by the global financial crisis and its aftermath, as well as the shift in recent years from synchronized to divergent monetary policies by the major central banks. Identifying reserve currency blocks and the de facto behavior of currencies is an ongoing pursuit. The two dimensions of exchange regimes—the anchor currency (basket) and the degree of exchange rate flexibility—should be identified simultaneously. The implied regimes align well with Switzerland’s de facto exchange rate arrangements and monetary policy frameworks. The approach used in this paper identifies how the franc co-moves with the major reserve currencies but is agnostic about the driving forces behind these moves.
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; wage; franc; currency; SNB; monetary policy; brake rule; wage gap; gap vis-à-vis; liquidity mismatch; long-run wage-productivity relationship; SNB's FX purchase; reserve portfolio; wage Phillips curve; Currencies; Wage gap; Wages; Labor productivity; Real wages; Global; Europe; Eastern Europe
Cover IMF Working Papers
Covered Interest Parity Deviations: Macrofinancial Determinants
Mr. Eugenio M Cerutti
,
Mr. Maurice Obstfeld
, and
Haonan Zhou
For about three decades until the Global Financial Crisis (GFC), Covered Interest Parity (CIP) appeared to hold quite closely—even as a broad macroeconomic relationship applying to daily or weekly data. Not only have CIP deviations significantly increased since the GFC, but potential macrofinancial drivers of the variation in CIP deviations have also become significant. The variation in CIP deviations seems to be associated with multiple factors, not only regulatory changes. Most of these do not display a uniform importance across currency pairs and time, and some are associated with possible temporary considerations (such as asynchronous monetary policy cycles).
Keywords:
WP; U.S. dollar; cross-currency basis; cross-currency dollar basis; basis calculation; Covered Interest Parity; Interest Rate Differentials; Forward FX Market; dollar strength; investment option; time-series regression; dollar appreciation; Interest rate parity; Currencies; Global financial crisis of 2008-2009; Interbank rates; Money markets; Global
Cover IMF Working Papers
International Capital Flow Pressures
Ms. Linda S. Goldberg
and
Signe Krogstrup
This paper presents a new measure of capital flow pressures in the form of a recast Exchange Market Pressure index. The measure captures pressures that materialize in actual international capital flows as well as pressures that result in exchange rate adjustments. The formulation is theory-based, relying on balance of payments equilibrium conditions and international asset portfolio considerations. Based on the modified exchange market pressure index, the paper also proposes the Global Risk Response Index, which reflects the country-specific sensitivity of capital flow pressures to measures of global risk aversion. For a large sample of countries over time, we demonstrate time variation in the effects of global risk on exchange market pressures, the evolving importance of the global factor across types of countries, and the changing risk-on or risk-off status of currencies.
Keywords:
WP; exchange rate; base currency; net capital; Exchange Market Pressure; Risk aversion; Safe haven; Capital flows; Foreign Exchange Reserves; flow pressure; capital flow pressure; outflow pressure; exchange rate elasticity; exchange rate data; reserves change; capital flow data; appreciation pressure; currency experiences appreciation pressure; capital outflow pressure; flow data; Home exchange rate depreciation; Currencies; Exchange rates; International reserves; Currency markets; Global