The euro has played an important catalysing role for the deepening and broadening of the corporate bond markets in the euro area. The most remarkable market growth has been recorded for bonds issued by euro area non-bank financials, reflecting increasing securitisations. The euro has had a...

We present an overview of methods to estimate risk arising from operational losses. Our approach is based on the study of the statistical severity distribution of a single loss. We analyze the fundamental issues that arise in practice when modeling operational risk data. We address the...

A recurring criticism of U.S. bank supervisors is that their standards vary procyclicly with banking and economic conditions. The 2010 reforms of supervisory standards for bank capital adequacy and liquidity (Basel III) directly address procyclicality in supervision and its effects on credit...

Has the political influence of the financial industry had any bearing on financial regulation and, ultimately, the recent financial crisis? This paper discusses the findings of recent research that uses a detailed database of the lobbying activities, campaign contributions, political connections...

We want to show the relevance of risk management and riskbased functions in banks, as during the recent crisis what has become very clear is that capital requirements for financial institutions were not always adequate given their risks. Under the current set of rules the Internal Capital...

Events such as the recent global financial crisis, the failure of Lehman Brothers, and the bailout of American International Group, have called increased attention to the opaque workings of the over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives markets which have remained unregulated until now. Nevertheless,...

Measuring, controlling and managing operational risk have played an important role for bank industry endeavors since the publication of Basel II (2006) as the regulatory framework for the effective management and supervision of financial risks. More recently, due to the current financial crisis,...

This study assesses the degree of financial integration in the WAEMU (West African Economic and Monetary Union). The structure of the financial sector and its institutional arrangements indicate that financial integration is well advanced in some aspects. Common and foreign ownership of banks is...

The majority of commentators, along with the public opinion, are inclined to identify the causes of the last financial crisis in a combination of traditional market and regulatory failures in the operation and regulation of financial markets. Whatever cannot be explained along these lines is...

Financial regulation today is largely framed by traditional business categories. The financial markets, however, have begun to bypass those categories, principally over the last thirty years. Chief among the changes has been convergence in the products and services offered by traditional...