Do Central Banks Need Capital?

Do Central Banks Need Capital?
Author: Mr.Peter Stella
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
Total Pages: 40
Release: 1997-07-01
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1451850506

Central banks may operate perfectly well without capital as conventionally defined. A large negative net worth, however, is likely to compromise central bank independence and interfere with its ability to attain policy objectives. If society values an independent central bank capable of effectively implementing monetary policy, recapitalization may become essential. Proper accounting practice in determining central bank profit or loss and rules governing the transfer of the central bank’s operating result to the treasury are also important. A variety of country-specific central bank practices are reviewed to support the argument.

Capitalizing Central Banks

Capitalizing Central Banks
Author: Alain Ize
Publisher:
Total Pages: 63
Release: 2005-01-01
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9781462302420

This paper provides a simple, quantitative, net worth-based, approach to assessing the need for central bank capital. It derives a concept of core capital (a function of the central bank's operating expenditures and the carrying cost of its international reserves) as the minimum capital needed by a central bank to ensure the credibility of its inflation target. the approach is illustrated with the published accounts of three loss-making central banks and selected accounting entries for a broader sample of central banks. Policy implications are explored. In particular, the paper argues that central bank capitalizations cannot be automatic and require instead a broad policy debate.

Capitalizing Central Banks

Capitalizing Central Banks
Author: Mr.Alain Ize
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
Total Pages: 27
Release: 2005-01-01
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 145186034X

This paper provides a simple, quantitative, net worth-based, approach to assessing the need for central bank capital. It derives a concept of "core capital" (a function of the central bank's operating expenditures and the carrying cost of its international reserves) as the minimum capital needed by a central bank to ensure the credibility of its inflation target. The approach is illustrated with the published accounts of three loss-making central banks and selected accounting entries for a broader sample of central banks. Policy implications are explored. In particular, the paper argues that central bank capitalizations cannot be automatic and require instead a broad policy debate.

Fed Power

Fed Power
Author: Lawrence Jacobs
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 305
Release: 2021-02-12
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0197573142

An eye-opening analysis of the Federal Reserve's massive and unwarranted power in American life and how it favors the financial sector over everyone else. The Federal Reserve, created more than a century ago, is the most powerful central bank in the world. The Fed's power, which derives from its ability to alter the money supply and move interest rates, weighs heavily not only on the US economy, but on the world economy as well. Lawrence R. Jacobs and Desmond King's Fed Power is the first sustained synthesis of the Fed's political role--especially the way in which it uses its power to benefit some interest groups and not others--since the 2008 financial crisis. In this fully updated and revised second edition, Fed Power addresses new developments during Trump's presidency--particularly the Fed's massive and unprecedented injection of liquidity into the US economy following the COVID epidemic-and offers fresh insights on the Fed's outsized role in picking winners and losers in the American economy. King and Jacobs conclude with bold proposals to reform America's financial management to prevent future crises and to restore democratic accountability. A powerful critique of how the Federal Reserve governs the American economy, Fed Power will be essential reading for anyone interested in the role that the Fed's policies have played in increasing economic and racial inequality across both the Obama and Trump presidencies and the new directions pursued by the Biden administration and progressive activists.

The Capital Needs of Central Banks

The Capital Needs of Central Banks
Author: Sue Milton
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 225
Release: 2010-10-12
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1136895906

This collection takes the reader through historical, theoretical and factual discussions on why central banks exist and the role – actual and intended – they have in assisting their home nation in achieving monetary and financial stability.

Usability of Bank Capital Buffers: The Role of Market Expectations

Usability of Bank Capital Buffers: The Role of Market Expectations
Author: José Abad
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
Total Pages: 61
Release: 2022-01-28
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1616358939

Following the COVID shock, supervisors encouraged banks to use capital buffers to support the recovery. However, banks have been reluctant to do so. Provided the market expects a bank to rebuild its buffers, any draw-down will open up a capital shortfall that will weigh on its share price. Therefore, a bank will only decide to use its buffers if the value creation from a larger loan book offsets the costs associated with a capital shortfall. Using market expectations, we calibrate a framework for assessing the usability of buffers. Our results suggest that the cases in which the use of buffers make economic sense are rare in practice.

Bank Capital and the Cost of Equity

Bank Capital and the Cost of Equity
Author: Mohamed Belkhir
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
Total Pages: 44
Release: 2019-12-04
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1513519808

Using a sample of publicly listed banks from 62 countries over the 1991-2017 period, we investigate the impact of capital on banks’ cost of equity. Consistent with the theoretical prediction that more equity in the capital mix leads to a fall in firms’ costs of equity, we find that better capitalized banks enjoy lower equity costs. Our baseline estimations indicate that a 1 percentage point increase in a bank’s equity-to-assets ratio lowers its cost of equity by about 18 basis points. Our results also suggest that the form of capital that investors value the most is sheer equity capital; other forms of capital, such as Tier 2 regulatory capital, are less (or not at all) valued by investors. Additionally, our main finding that capital has a negative effect on banks’ cost of equity holds in both developed and developing countries. The results of this paper provide the missing evidence in the debate on the effects of higher capital requirements on banks’ funding costs.

The Federal Reserve System Purposes and Functions

The Federal Reserve System Purposes and Functions
Author: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2002
Genre: Banks and Banking
ISBN: 9780894991967

Provides an in-depth overview of the Federal Reserve System, including information about monetary policy and the economy, the Federal Reserve in the international sphere, supervision and regulation, consumer and community affairs and services offered by Reserve Banks. Contains several appendixes, including a brief explanation of Federal Reserve regulations, a glossary of terms, and a list of additional publications.