Banks are reluctant to tap central bank backup liquidity facilities and use the borrowed funds for loans to the real economy. We show that excessively parsimonious borrowing and lending can arise in a stigma-free model where the banking sector has an incentive to overissue deposits. Banks don't...

We review the macroeconomic literature on retail central bank digital currency (CBDC), organizing the discussion around a CBDC-irrelevance result. We identify both fundamental and policy-related sources of relevance, or departures from neutrality. Bank disintermediation-the crowding out of...

We study Discount Window (DW) stigma, the reluctance to access the Federal Reserve's lender-of-last-resort facility, between 2014 and 2024. Despite increased usage since 2020, we find conclusive evidence that the DW is stigmatized, especially among smaller banks and when financial markets...

A core responsibility of a central bank is to ensure financial stability by acting as the "lender of last resort" through its Discount Window. The Discount Window, however, has not been effective because its usage is stigmatized. In this paper, we study experimentally how such stigma can be...

Central banks play a crucial role in promoting financial stability. They act as financial system stabilizers through their capacity to create liquidity and channel it to financial institutions and markets in times of stress - a role that has evolved and expanded substantially over the past 15...

This paper studies the role of a lender of last resort (LLR) in a monetary model where a shortage of a bank’s monetary reserves (a liquidity crisis) occurs endogenously. We show that discount window lending by the LLR is welfare-improving but reduces banks’ ex-ante incentive to hold monetary...

This report looks backwards to the worldwide use of (enhanced) lender of last resort (LOLR) and market maker of last resort (MMLR) facilities during the global financial and the pandemic crises. It discusses how LOLR and MMLR facilities have worked; looking ahead, it considers what benefits and...

Because of secrecy, little is known about the political economy of central bank lending. Utilizing a novel, hand-collected historical daily dataset on loans to commercial banks, we analyze how personal connections matter for lending of last resort, highlighting the importance of governance for...

Are central bank tools effective in reaching non-banks with no access to the lender-of-last-resort facilities? Using runs on mutual funds in March 2020 as a laboratory, we show that, following the announcement of large-scale purchases, funds with higher ex ante shares of assets eligible for...

Drawing on new research, this paper dissects the experiences of central banks as lenders of last resort (LOLR) during the nineteenth and early twentieth century. Focusing on Europe and North America, the paper clarifies the mechanics of historical LOLR operations and discusses why the LOLR...

This paper explores how non-U.S. central banks behave when firms in their economies engage in currency mismatch, borrowing more heavily in dollars than justified by their operating exposures. We begin by documenting that, in a panel of 53 countries, central bank holdings of dollar reserves are...

This paper studies the role of a lender of last resort (LLR) in a monetary model where a shortage of a bank's monetary reserves (a liquidity crisis) occurs endogenously. We show that discount window lending by the LLR is welfare-improving but reduces banks' ex-ante incentive to hold monetary...

Central banks have vastly expanded their footprint on capital markets. At a time of extraordinary pressure by many sides, a simple benchmark for the scale and scope of their core mandate of price and financial stability may be useful. We make a case for a narrow mandate to maintain and safeguard...

Central banks may engage in large-scale lending and asset purchases to stabilize financial markets and implement monetary policy during crises. The ability of these actions to restore financial market functioning is well documented; however, they come with costs. We provide a literature review of...

Countercyclical bank capital requirements have emerged as a popular regulatory tool to help smooth financial cycles. The idea is to reduce capital requirements when exogenous shocks cause aggregate bank capital to decrease so that regulation does not needlessly constrain banks' supply of credit....

This paper explores how non-U.S. central banks behave when firms in their economies engage in currency mismatch, borrowing more heavily in dollars than justified by their operating exposures. We begin by documenting that, in a panel of 53 countries, central bank holdings of dollar reserves are...

Are central bank tools effective in reaching non-banks with no access to the lender-of-last-resort facilities? Using runs on mutual funds in March 2020 as a laboratory, we show that, following the announcement of large-scale purchases, funds with higher ex ante shares of assets eligible for...

The failure of major banks in 2023, such as Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), Signature Bank, First Republic Bank, and Credit Suisse, points to the continuing need for financial institutions to price liquidity risk properly and for financial systems to find alternative sources of liquidity in times of...

Because of secrecy, little is known about the political economy of central bank lending. Utilizing a novel, hand-collected historical daily dataset on loans to commercial banks, we analyze how personal connections matter for lending of last resort, highlighting the importance of governance for...

This report looks backwards to the worldwide use of (enhanced) lender of last resort (LOLR) and market maker of last resort (MMLR) facilities during the global financial and the pandemic crises. It discusses how LOLR and MMLR facilities have worked; looking ahead, it considers what benefits and...

This paper shows that China has launched a new global system for cross-border rescue lending to countries in debt distress. We build the first comprehensive dataset on China’s overseas bailouts between 2000 and 2021 and provide new insights into China’s growing role in the global financial...

This paper shows that China has launched a new global system for cross-border rescue lending to countries in debt distress. It builds the first comprehensive dataset on China's overseas bailouts between 2000 and 2021 and provide new insights into China's growing role in the global financial...

We study market illiquidity in an economy subject to non-fundamental shocks. Asset trading occurs via decentralized one-on-one bargaining. The model has multiple rational expectations equilibria; we associate certain Pareto inferior equilibria with liquidity crises. The government can improve...

"The making of a central bank-and of America's financial contingency plans. The long-standing description of the Federal Reserve as a "lender of last resort" refers to the central bank's provision of emergency liquidity for banks and financial entities in periods of crisis. As economist Mark...

In this chapter, we provide an account of the main instruments and procedures used by the ECB for the conduct of its monetary policy and a critical review of the decisions adopted since the Great Financial Crisis in 2008. Two main arguments are developed. Firstly, the ECB's monetary...

The European Central Bank's activities as lender of last resort are especially controversial in Germany. The overriding concern of the critics is an alleged tendency of creating moral hazard on the side of public and private borrowers in the European Monetary Union. This contrasts with the...

We analyze the problem of a policy authority (PA) that must decide when to resolve a troubled bank whose underlying solvency is uncertain. Delaying resolution increases the chance that information arrives that reveals the bank's true solvency state. However, delaying resolution also gives...

Central banks create money to lend during credit crunches, which might lead to inflation. We examine whether the two key functions of central banks—price stability and last-resort lending—conflict. We develop a nominal model of bank runs à la Diamond and Dybvig (1983) in which individuals...