This paper examines the vulnerability of banks in EMU countries to shocks to default risk premiums on public debt. This vulnerability depends on the total amount of public debt in bank portfolios, the degree of geographical diversification of public debt holdings by banks, and the extent to...

This paper applies the Feldstein-Horioka criterion, that is, the role of savings-investment correlations, to assess the degree of financial integration in the European Community. We establish a link between the Feldstein-Horioka criterion and three other criteria for financial integration: the...

A debate has raged whether and to what extent the renminbi has been undervalued. <span style="color: #000000;">To answer this question this memorandum is first interested in the level of China’s “equilibrium†(real effective) exchange rate. </span> <span style="color: #000000;">Secondly, this memorandum is interested in the methodology to...</span>

More competition among banks typically enhances the welfare of consumers. However, it may also involve a threat to financial stability, that is of vital importance for the functioning of economies. Read also the accompanying <a href="http://www.cpb.nl/en/pressrelease/3213114/no-need-sheltering-banks-competition">press release</a>. This study reveals that many forms of competition do...

We provide empirical evidence on the link between stock market volatility and macroeconomic uncertainty. We show that US stock market volatility is significantly related to the dispersion in economic forecasts from participants in the Survey of Professional Forecasters over the period 1969 to...

The two decades prior to the credit crisis witnessed a strategic shift from a traditional, relationships-oriented model (ROM) to a transactions-oriented model (TOM) of financial intermediation in developed countries. A concurrent trend has been a persistent decline in average bank interest...

This paper employs a time-varying parameter state space model to explore the impact of the crisis on bank retail rates in the euro area. We show that σ-convergence in interest rates has been adversely affected by the crisis and quantify the role of sovereign and credit risk as two alternative...

This article employs panel cointegration techniques to explore the impact of the euro crisis on the relationship between deposit rates and deposit holdings in the euro area. For the period prior to the crisis, no significant relationship between these variables can be established. In contrast,...