International banking is a complex phenomenon. Among its determinants, distance has been found to be critical. But does distance only have a simple negative direct effect? Or is the role of geography more intricate? Applying spatial analysis techniques on BIS data of bank foreign claims in 178...

We discuss the origins of the Greek financial crisis as manifested in the growing fiscal and current-account deficits since euro-area entry in 2001. We then provide an investigation of spreads on Greek relative to German long-term government debt. Using monthly data over the period 2000 to 2010,...

The aim of this study is to provide an empirical methodology for the estimation of market power of individual banks. The new method employs the well-known model of Panzar and Rosse (1987) and proposes its estimation using the local regression technique. Thus, a number of restrictive assumptions...

This paper uses dynamic panel data methods to examine the determinants of nonperforming loans (NPLs) in the Greek banking sector, separately for each type of loan (consumer, business and mortgage loans). The study is motivated by the hypothesis that both macroeconomic and bank-specific variables...

This paper estimates a fiscal policy reaction function in order to investigate the links between financial and real estate market movements and fiscal policy outcomes. An increase in asset prices affects in a positive and significant manner primary balances, with the response reflecting both an...

In this paper we examine the dynamics of European sovereign bond yield spreads focusing on issues related to financial integration and market conditions. The finding of near-unit-root effects highlights the need for careful econometric specification. Thus we formulate sovereign bond yield...

In this work a modification of the Box-Tiao methodology for the assessment of the impact of external events on time series is proposed as an alternative statistical approach of assessing the predictive performance of the moving average trading rule in financial markets. With the proposed...

This paper examines the effect of asset price volatility on fiscal policy stance. We find that asset price volatility affects the volatility of discretionary fiscal policy in a positive and significant manner, which according to Fatas and Mihov (2003) has negative repercussions on output...

This paper examines the links between asset price movements and fiscal adjustments. Our findings suggest that a pick up in asset prices increases the probability of initiating a fiscal adjustment, but it does not necessarily lead to a sustainable correction of fiscal imbalances. However, higher...

In the present paper we examine interactions among five benchmark ten year government bonds, namely those of the US, Germany, France, Italy and the Netherlands. Our aim is to illustrate empirically a network of interactions existing among the major bond markets of Europe and the US market taking...