The proposed revision of the Swiss Banking Act introduces a public liquidity backstop (PLB) for distressed systemically important banks (SIBs), in part to facilitate resolution. We examine the impact of the PLB on fiscal balances, societal welfare, and the incentives of bank shareholders and...

I develop a banking model with monopolistic competition to analyze the effect of reserve rate policy on bank insolvency risk, when banks are constrained by a zero lower bound on deposit rates. When binding, the lower bound compresses the solvency relevant deposit spread and causes it to be a...

This paper develops an early warning system for predicting distress for large European banks. Using a novel definition of distress derived from banks' headroom above regulatory requirements, we investigate the performance of three machine learning techniques against the traditional logistic...

I develop a banking model with monopolistic competition to analyze the effect of reserve rate policy on bank insolvency risk, when banks are constrained by a zero lower bound on deposit rates. When binding, the lower bound compresses the solvency relevant deposit spread and causes it to be a...

In this third edition of the Resolvability Assessment report, the Single Resolution Board (SRB) takes stock of the progress made by banks in building up their resolvability capabilities until December 2023, in line with the SRB Expectations for Banks. December 2023 marked an important milestone...

We use tools from survival analysis to study the equilibrium probability of bank failure in a model with imperfect correlation in loan defaults where a systematic risk factor and idiosyncratic frailty factors govern borrower credit worth. We derive several surprising results: in equilibrium, a...

This paper examines the consequences of Chinese regulators deviating from a long-standing full bailout policy in addressing the distress of a city-level commercial bank. This policy shift led to a persistent widening of credit spreads and a significant decline in funding ratios for negotiable...

In 2023, both the US and Europe witnessed banking crises, notably involving Silicon Valley Bank and Credit Suisse. Relevant authorities intervened to prevent contagion, and distressed banks were sold at seemingly deflated prices. We identify three primary factors contributing to elevated profits...

Why do banks fail? We create a panel covering most commercial banks from 1865 through 2023 to study the history of failing banks in the United States. Failing banks are characterized by rising asset losses, deteriorating solvency, and an increasing reliance on expensive non-core funding....

Last year, at around the same time, two reforms of deposit insurance systems were announced - one in the United States and the other in the European Union. The American proposal of the reform was triggered by the banking crisis of March 2023 (bank runs and failures) and it was put forward by the...

The crisis management framework for banks in the European Union (EU) requires the resolution authorities to identify the existence of a public interest to resolve an ailing bank, rather than to open normal insolvency proceedings (NIPs). The Public Interest Assessment (PIA) determines whether...

Loan guarantees represent a form of government intervention to support bank lending. However, their use raises concerns as to their effect on bank risk-taking incentives. In a model of financial fragility that incorporates bank capital and a bank incentive problem, we show that loan guarantees...

To what extent does the collapse of a commercial bank spread contagion across cryptocurrency markets? How do markets behave around bankruptcy if digital assets remain stuck within the bank and cannot be withdrawn? We use a BEKK model to examine contagion effects across major digital assets...

This study examines how financial sectors of 43 countries responded to the Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) failure. Findings show significant adverse reactions, with various degrees, in most countries in Africa, Europe, and North America on and around the event date. In contrast, the equity market...

The Silicon Valley Bank failure has drawn comparisons to the Bear Stearns collapse in March 2008, which was followed 6 months later by the Lehman Brothers collapse, which then unleashed the Great Financial Crisis. In this light and against the background of the U.S.’s unique proclivity for...