Regulation of banks Flashcards
What are the three main differences between banks and non-financial firms ?
- Banks engaged in maturity transformation
- Banks finance loans typically characterized by asymmetric information
- Cusomers of bank = creditors
What are the consequences about banks as maturity transformators ?
- Inherently unstable and prone to liquidity crises
* Risk of financial contagion
What is the consequence about banks as delegated monitors ?
- Banks’ assets = opaque + hard to value for outsiders
* Huge liquidation costs due to loss of information capital
What is the consequence of customers being the banks’ creditors
Banks are financed by large numbers of uninformed depositors.
What are the justifications behind bank regulation ?
- Market failure
- Customer protection
- Favoritism of interest groups and other pollical reasons
Why do banks emerge ?
Because they reduce market imperfections mainly caused by asymmetric information
What happens when a bank suddenly fails ?
It confronts its customers and the public with the market imperfections
What are the strong negative externalities of bank failures ?
- Contagion may affect other institutions without any direct links to failing bank
- Failing bank’s borrowers face sudden refinancing + liquidity problems as loans = opaque and cannot be easily transferred to other institutions
- Costs of default inflicted upon small uninformed depositors may be politically unacceptable
Why do negative externalities cause market failure ?
Banks ignore costs of negative externalities when making economic decisions
What happens as government and/or central bank rescues large banks to prevent contagion and liquidity crises in real sector ?
- Large banks enjoy implicit subsidies as creditors anticipate government aid
- Anticipation of eventual government aid induces moral hazard + gives banks incentive to take excessive risks
What are the reasons behind customer protection ?
- Non-financial firms usually financed by professional, well-informed creditors
- In contrast, banks finance themselves in large parts with deposits from small uniformed and dispersed agents
- Deposits and payment services offered by banks play crucial role in economic transactions
What are the main problems affecting public regulation in practice ?
- Regulatory capture
- Forbearance
- Biased objectives
What is the problem with the regulatory capture and public regulation ?
Authorities advance concerns of sector they regulate instead of pursuing optimal regulation
What is the problem with the forbearance and public regulation ?
Authorities try to avoid conflicts or to cover up own mistakes
What is the problem with the biased objectives and public regulation ?
Authorities follow policial goals such as promoting national champions instead of implementing optimal regulation.
What are the two tools of public regulation for maintaining financial stability ?
- Preventive (ex-ante) measures
* Curative(ex-post) measures
What are the objectives of the preventive measures ?
- Aim at increasing banks’ safety and soundness
* Reduce potential for contagion
What are the curative measures’ objectives ?
- Support banks to avoid failure
* Reduce fallout of eventual failures
What is meant by asset restrictions ?
Banks either required to hold certain assets or restricted from certain investments as for example :
- Requrirement to hold bonds
- Restrictions on holding shares
- Encadrement du crédit
What are the drawbacks from asset restrictions ?
- Regulator has to determine assets too risky to hold
* Likely to be misused for political goals