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Europe > Norway

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

  • Type: Journal Issue x
  • International Financial Markets x
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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
Commodity-based Sovereign Wealth Funds: Managing Financial Flows in the Context of the Sovereign Balance Sheet
Abdullah Al-Hassan
,
Sue Brake
,
Mr. Michael G. Papaioannou
, and
Martin Skancke
Commodity-based sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) have been at a crossroads following the recent fall in commodity prices. This paper provides a framework for commodity-based SWF management, focusing on stabilization and savings funds, by (i) examining macrofiscal linkages for SWFs; (ii) presenting an integrated sovereign asset and liability management (SALM) approach to SWF management; and (iii) applying this framework to a scenario where assets are being accumulated and to a scenario where the SWF is drawn on to cover a financing gap due to lower commodity prices.
Keywords:
WP; asset; price; financial asset; liquidity; commodity; sovereign wealth funds; sovereign asset and liability management; financing gap; investment management; risk management; macroeconomic coordination; SWF assets; SWF management; investment strategy; asset accumulation; net asset position; SWF balance sheet; asset allocation perspective; negative carry; SWF inflow; SWF performance; SWF owner country; opportunity cost; Financial statements; Government debt management; Government asset and liability management; Global
Cover IMF Working Papers
Bank Funding Costs for International Banks
Miss Rita Babihuga
and
Marco Spaltro
This paper investigates the determinants of bank funding costs for a sample of internationally active banks from 2001–12. We find that changes in banks’ unsecured funding costs are associated with bank-specific characteristics such as an institution’s credit worthiness and the return on its market value, and importantly, on the level and quality of capital. Similarly, market factors such as the level of investor risk appetite, as well as shocks to financial markets—notably the US subprime crisis and the Euro Area sovereign debt crisis—have also been key drivers of the sharp rise in bank funding costs. We also find evidence that large systemically important institutions have enjoyed a funding advantage, and that this advantage has risen since the onset of the two crises. With the exception of Euro Area periphery banks, by end-2012 the rise in funding costs had generally been reversed for most major banks as a result of improvments in bank asset quality as well as steps taken to increase resilience, notably higher capitalization. Our results suggest increased capital buffers may potentially support bank lending to the real economy by reducing bank funding costs.
Keywords:
WP; funding cost; CDS premia; EA bank; bank profitability; bank funding; bank lending; financial crises; capital; deposit; wholesale funding; EA bank CDS premia; balance sheet health; periphery bank; bank capital; funding model; EA periphery bank; balance sheet determinant; bank equity financing; result bank; Credit default swap; Global financial crisis of 2008-2009; Short term interest rates; Bank credit; Global
Cover IMF Working Papers
Procyclical Behavior of Institutional Investors During the Recent Financial Crisis: Causes, Impacts, and Challenges
Mr. Michael G. Papaioannou
,
Mr. Joonkyu Park
,
Jukka Pihlman
, and
Han van der Hoorn
This paper (i) provides evidence on the procyclical investment behavior of major institutional investors during the global financial crisis; (ii) identifies the main factors that could account for such behavior; (iii) discusses the implications of procyclical behavior; and (iv) proposes a framework for sound investment practices for long-term investors. Such procyclical investment behavior is understandable and may be considered rational from an individual institution’s perspective. However, our main conclusion is that behaving in a manner consistent with longterm investing would lead to better long-term, risk-adjusted returns and, importantly, could lessen the potential adverse effects of the procyclical investment behavior of institutional investors on global financial stability.
Keywords:
WP; flight to quality; investment behavior; long-term investor; risk tolerance; asset owner; hedge fund; individual investor; investment horizon; sovereign investor; Financial crisis; long-term investments; institutional investors; procyclicality; asset allocation; asset class; endowment fund; Pension spending; Asset allocation; Liquidity; Mutual funds; Global
Cover IMF Working Papers
Sovereign Risk and Asset and Liability Management: Conceptual Issues
Mr. Udaibir S Das
,
Miss Yinqiu Lu
,
Mr. Michael G. Papaioannou
, and
Iva Petrova
Country practices towards managing financial risks on a sovereign balance sheet continue to evolve. Each crisis period, and its legacy on sovereign balance sheets, reaffirms the need for strengthening financial risk management. This paper discusses some salient features embedded in in the current generation of sovereign asset and liability management (SALM) approaches, including objectives, definitions of relevant assets and liabilities, and methodologies used in obtaining optimal SALM outcomes. These elements are used in developing an analytical SALM framework which could become an operational instrument in formulating asset management and debtor liability management strategies at the sovereign level. From a portfolio perspective, the SALM approach could help detect direct and derived sovereign risk exposures. It allows analyzing the financial characteristics of the balance sheet, identifying sources of costs and risks, and quantifying the correlations among these sources of risk. The paper also outlines institutional requirements in implementing an SALM framework and seeks to lay the ground for further policy and analytical work on this topic.
Keywords:
WP; debt; balance sheet; interest rate; sovereign asset and liability management; economic risk; sovereign balance sheet; reserve management; debt management; foreign currency; SALM framework; capital market; balance sheet risk; SALM objective; government balance sheet; SALM approach; cash reserves; Financial statements; Government asset and liability management; Currencies; Government debt management; Africa; Global
Cover IMF Working Papers
Money and Collateral
Mr. Manmohan Singh
and
Mr. Peter Stella
Between 1980 and before the recent crisis, the ratio of financial market debt to liquid assets rose exponentially in the U.S. (and in other financial markets), reflecting in part the greater use of securitized assets to collateralize borrowing. The subsequent crisis has reduced the pool of assets considered acceptable as collateral, resulting in a liquidity shortage. When trying to address this, policy makers will need to consider concepts of liquidity besides the traditional metric of excess bank reserves and do more than merely substitute central bank money for collateral that currently remains highly liquid.
Keywords:
WP; central bank money; financial market; transmission mechanism; interest rate; market practice; Money; collateral; liquidity; financial crisis; securitization; central bank; party repo market; depository liability; Fed holding; Fed-Treasury accord; market clearing; FR note; Monetary base; Currencies; Bank deposits; Global
Cover IMF Working Papers
Investment Objectives of Sovereign Wealth Funds: A Shifting Paradigm
Iva Petrova
,
Jukka Pihlman
,
Mr. Peter J Kunzel
, and
Miss Yinqiu Lu
While SWF investment objectives to some extent reflect inherent characteristics, notable differences in strategic asset allocation (SAA) exist even amongst SWFs of similar types. Even so, this paper shows that the global crisis may have changed SWF’s asset allocations in ways that may not be ideal or justified in all cases and that a review of investment objectives may be warranted. It also argues for regular macro-risk assessments for the sovereign, the continued importance of SWFs as a stabilizer in international capital markets, as well as the active role they could play in international regulatory reform.
Keywords:
WP; sovereign wealth fund; SWF; investment; asset; investment horizon; Sovereign Wealth Funds; Portfolio Choice; Investment and Risk Management; Government Policy and Regulation; savings SWF; SWF resource; SWF's ability; SWF objective; SWF website; cross-border operation; reserve investment corporation; savings-type SWF; stabilization SWF; SWF performance; asset-liability management consideration; Asset allocation; Reserve assets; Pension spending; Stocks; Business enterprises; Global
Cover IMF Working Papers
Governance and Fund Management in the Chinese Pension System
Yu-Wei Hu
,
Gregorio Impavido
, and
Xiaohong Li
The Chinese pension system is highly fragmented and decentralized, with governance standards, pension fund management practices, their regulation and supervision varying considerably both across the funded components of the Chinese pension system and across provinces. This paper describes the key components of the system, highlights the progress made to date and identifies remaining weaknesses, in regard to information disclosure, the governance framework and pension fund management standards.
Keywords:
WP; asset manager; NSSF assets; fixed income; bank deposit; investment fund; NSSF staff; private equity
Cover IMF Working Papers
International Stock Returns and Market Integration: A Regional Perspective
Mr. Marco Del Negro
and
Mr. Robin Brooks
We investigate the relative importance of country and industry effects in international stock returns, with the innovation that we decompose country effects into region and within-region country effects. We divide the global stock market into the Americas, Asia, and Europe and find that most of the variation explained by country effects is actually due to region effects. Over time, these region effects have fallen. Within regions, however, only in Europe has segmentation declined, while it has increased elsewhere. Europe is also the only region where industry effects are now robustly more important than country effects.
Keywords:
WP; TMT firm; U.S. dollar; mean absolute deviations; dummy variable; stock portfolio; Diversification; risk; international financial markets; industrial structure; region effect; portfolio manager; Stock markets; Stocks; Market capitalization; Capital account; North American Free Trade Agreement; Europe; Global; Asia and Pacific; Western Europe; Southeast Asia
Cover IMF Working Papers
Exchange Market Pressures and Speculative Capital Flows in Selected European Countries
Ceyla Pazarbasioglu
and
Ms. Inci Ötker
This paper estimates a speculative attack model of currency crises in an attempt to identify the roles of macroeconomic fundamentals and speculative market pressures in the recent crisis, as well as earlier devaluations in adjustable fixed exchange rate systems in the European currency markets. For a sample of five countries, including Denmark, Ireland, Spain, Norway, and Sweden, our empirical analyses show that both economic fundamentals and speculative factors have a significant influence on the probability of devaluations. The recent experience in the European foreign exchange markets suggests that the latest realignments are mainly the result of foreign exchange market tensions amidst the growing conflict between the needs of the domestic economies and the policies needed to maintain fixed exchange rates. Our results confirm that regardless of the source of the deterioration in economic conditions, market participants perceived the existing parities of the currencies in these five countries as inconsistent with their underlying economic fundamentals, thus effectively bringing about either a realignment or a modification of the exchange arrangement.
Keywords:
WP; central bank; interest rate; Swedish krona; devaluation probability; crisis model; price level; Norwegian krone; Italian lira; deutsche mark; adjustable peg; currency float; ERM currency; basket index; shadow exchange rate; Currencies; Currency markets; Exchange rate arrangements; Exchange rates; Conventional peg; Europe