We study the determinants of sovereign bond spreads in the euro area since the introduction of the euro. We show that an aggregate risk factor is a main driver of spreads. This factor also plays an important indirect role for risk spreads through its interaction with the size and structure of...

This paper adds to the growing body of literature on the design of Contingent Convertible Bonds (CoCos). We discuss how the design of the loss absorption mechanism affects the stability of bank funding and distinguish between Conversion-to-Equity (CE) CoCos, Principal WriteDown (PWD) CoCos with...

This paper deals with the issue of Japans public debt, particularly from a governance perspective. Japans public debt continues to follow a rising path mainly due to the fact that, in the harsh economic climate the country has experienced since the 1990s, the government has ended up increasing...