We present a model that can explain a sudden drop in the amount of money that can be borrowed against an asset, even in the absence of asymmetric information or fears about the value of the collateral. Three features of the model are essential: (i) the debt has a much shorter tenor than the...

We study liquidity transfers between banks through the interbank borrowing and asset sale markets when, (i) surplus banks providingliquidity have market power, ii) there are frictions in the lendingmarket due to moral hazard, and, (iii) assets are bank-specific. We show that when the outside...

What is the effect of financial crises and the irresolution on banks' choice of liquidity? When banks have relative expertise in employing risky assets, the market for these assets clears only atre-sale prices following a large number of bank failures. The gains from acquiring assets atre-sale...

Fire sales that occur during crises beg the question of why sufficient outside capital does not move in quickly to take advantage of fire sales, or in other words, why outside capital is so slow-moving. We propose an answer to this puzzle in the context of an equilibrium model of capital...

We study liquidity transfers between banks through the interbank borrowing and asset sale markets when(i)surplus banks providing liquidity have market power, ii)there are frictions in the lending market due to moral hazard, and(iii)assets are bank-specific. We show that when the outside options...

Financial crises are often accompanied by an outflow of foreign portfolio investment and an inflow of foreign direct investment(FDI). We provide an agency-theoretic framework that explains this phenomenon. We show that during crises, agency problems affecting domestic firms are exacerbated, and,...

Competition policy in the banking sector is complicated by the necessity of maintaining financial stability. Greater competition may be good for (static) efficiency, but bad for financial stability. From the point of view of welfare economics, the relevant question is: What are the efficient...

A complex financial system comprises both financial markets and financial intermediaries. We distinguish financial intermediaries according to whether they issue complete contingent contracts or incomplete contracts. Intermediaries such as banks that issue incomplete contracts, e.g., demand...

We define a financial system to be fragile if small shocks have disproportionately large effects. In a model of financial intermediation, we show that small shocks to the demand for liquidity cause either high asset-price volatility or bank defaults or both. Furthermore, as the liquidity shocks...