Domestic bond markets in Latin America have expanded significantly over the past few years. This development should help reduce the region's historical dependence on external financing. Although much progress has been made, vulnerabilities associated with refinancing risk remain and secondary...

Latin American domestic bond markets have developed rapidly in the past few years. Yield curves have been extended, issuance has shifted towards long-term, fixed-rate bonds, and non-resident participation has increased. Several factors have contributed to this process: Pension reform, increased...

International banking regulation comprises, inter alia, transnational quasi-legal standards concerning the capital adequacy of internationally active banks, though their usage is normally much wider. These standards originate from the Basle Committee on banking supervision. The main rationale...

Governments in Latin America have traditionally faced significant difficulties in issuing debt denominated in local currency in international markets. However, three countries in the region have recently issued this type of debt, perhaps signalling a permanent change in the manner in which Latin...

The financial impact of the global crisis on Latin America has in some respects been less severe than in previous crises. This reflects in part the development of domestic bond markets and improved net balance sheet positions of the economies, which have allowed gross capital inflow reversals to...

We study the nature of systemic sovereign credit risk using CDS spreads for the U.S. Treasury, individual U.S. states, and major European countries. Using a multifactor affine framework that allows for both systemic and sovereign-specific credit shocks, we find that there is considerable...

The present paper reviews the causes that led to the financial crisis. Unlike other interpretations, this paper does not place main significance on a single source or on a set of causes. I consider all major standpoints highlighted by research and media prior, during and after the financial...

I develop a model of secondary market pricing of sovereign debt when the creditors can reduce the debt. The sovereign obtains a stochastic revenue flow from the external sector and have a constant debt flow obligation. Default is costly for both the sovereign and the creditors and the...

This paper seeks to add to the current debate about financial development and growth in the emerging world by looking at how different financial systems evolve : how and why financial structures change during various stages of development, how best to measure them, and seeing what practical...

China is the world’s largest investor and greatest contributor to global economic growth by wide margins, and will remain so for many years. The efficiency of its financial system in allocating capital to investment will be important to sustain this growth. This paper shows that China’s...