On Bank Consolidation in a Currency Union

On Bank Consolidation in a Currency Union
Author: Fabio Di Vittorio
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
Total Pages: 26
Release: 2018-04-24
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 148435401X

The paper focuses on the impact of diversification on bank performance and how consolidation through mergers and acquisitions (M&A) affects the banking sector’s stability in the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU). The paper finds that a lower level of loan portfolio diversification explains higher non-performing loans and earnings volatility of indigenous banks, as compared to foreign competitors in the ECCU. We then simulate bank mergers both within and across ECCU countries by combining individual banks’ balance sheets. The simulation shows that a typical indigenous bank could better diversify against its idiosyncratic risk by merging with other banks across the border. In addition, we point out that M&A, leading to a more asymmetric banking sector, may increase systemic risk.

On Bank Consolidation in a Currency Union

On Bank Consolidation in a Currency Union
Author: Fabio Di Vittorio
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
Total Pages: 26
Release: 2018-04-24
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1484352750

The paper focuses on the impact of diversification on bank performance and how consolidation through mergers and acquisitions (M&A) affects the banking sector’s stability in the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU). The paper finds that a lower level of loan portfolio diversification explains higher non-performing loans and earnings volatility of indigenous banks, as compared to foreign competitors in the ECCU. We then simulate bank mergers both within and across ECCU countries by combining individual banks’ balance sheets. The simulation shows that a typical indigenous bank could better diversify against its idiosyncratic risk by merging with other banks across the border. In addition, we point out that M&A, leading to a more asymmetric banking sector, may increase systemic risk.

Handbook of the History of Money and Currency

Handbook of the History of Money and Currency
Author: Stefano Battilossi
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2020-03-13
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9789811305955

This handbook provides a comprehensive overview of state-of-the-art research in the field of monetary and financial history. The authors comprise different generations of leading scholars from universities worldwide. Thanks to its unrivaled breadth both in time (from antiquity to the present) and geographical coverage (from Europe to the Americas and Asia), the volume is set to become a key reference for historians, economists, and social scientists with an interest in the subject. The handbook reflects the existing variety of scholarly approaches in the field, from theoretically driven macroeconomic history to the political economy of monetary institutions and the historical evolution of monetary policies. Its thematic sections cover a wide range of topics, including the historical origins of money; money, coinage, and the state; trade, money markets, and international currencies; money and metals; monetary experiments; Asian monetary systems; exchange rate regimes; monetary integration; central banking and monetary policy; and aggregate price shocks.

A Banking Union for the Euro Area

A Banking Union for the Euro Area
Author: Rishi Goyal
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
Total Pages: 31
Release: 2013-02-12
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1475569823

The SDN elaborates the case for, and the design of, a banking union for the euro area. It discusses the benefits and costs of a banking union, presents a steady state view of the banking union, elaborates difficult transition issues, and briefly discusses broader EU issues. As such, it assesses current plans and provides advice. It is accompanied by three background technical notes that analyze in depth the various elements of the banking union: a single supervisory framework; a single resolution and common safety net; and urgent issues related to repair of weak banks in Europe.

Eastern Caribbean Currency Union

Eastern Caribbean Currency Union
Author: International Monetary Fund. Western Hemisphere Dept.
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
Total Pages: 82
Release: 2019-02-22
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1498300065

This 2018 discussion on common policies of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU) highlights that the member countries are gradually recovering following the catastrophic impact of Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017. Conditions remain favorable to growth, however, risks are increasing. The fiscal balance for the region as a whole worsened in 2017, reflecting lower inflows from citizenship-by-investment programs and higher reconstruction and current spending. The IMF team made several policy recommendations including shifting focus from the current emphasis on recovery from natural disasters to building ex-ante resilience. The report also recommends intensifying decisive and timely actions to resolve weaknesses in the financial sector, including longstanding problems in the banking sector and emerging risks in the non-banking sector. The authorities expressed commitment to the acceleration of key reforms to upgrade and strengthen the financial sector regional oversight framework. In addition to fiscal consolidation, injecting new vigor into the structural policy agenda will help enhance competitiveness and make growth more inclusive.

St. Vincent and the Grenadines

St. Vincent and the Grenadines
Author: International Monetary Fund. Western Hemisphere Dept.
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
Total Pages: 75
Release: 2017-12-21
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1484334981

This 2017 Article IV Consultation highlights that growth in St. Vincent and the Grenadines in 2017 is expected to remain relatively flat. The current account deficit is expected to narrow reflecting additional profit repatriation by telecommunication companies. The domestic banking system remains stable, but credit to the private sector has been flat. The fiscal situation is projected to worsen substantially in 2017 owing to a projected decline in tax revenue after exceptional receipts in 2016 and higher outlays for transfers, subsidies and public investment. Growth is expected to pick up to 2.1 percent in 2018 and reach its potential over the medium-term.

The European Union: A Very Short Introduction

The European Union: A Very Short Introduction
Author: John Pinder
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Total Pages: 209
Release: 2013-07-25
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0199681694

John Pinder and Simon Usherwood explain the EU in plain readable English. They show how and why it has developed, how the institutions work, and what it does - from the single market to the euro, and from agriculture to the environment.

Cross-border Banking in Europe

Cross-border Banking in Europe
Author: Franklin Allen
Publisher: CEPR
Total Pages: 117
Release: 2011
Genre: Banks and banking
ISBN: 1907142363

This report argues that policy reforms in micro- and macro-prudential regulation and macroeconomic policies are needed for Europe to reap the important diversification and efficiency benefits from cross-border banking, while reducing the risks stemming from large cross-border banks.Available online as pdf at: http: //www.cepr.org/pubs/books/CEPR/cross-border_banking.pd

The Eastern Caribbean Economic and Currency Union

The Eastern Caribbean Economic and Currency Union
Author: Mr.Alfred Schipke
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
Total Pages: 546
Release: 2013-04-10
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1616352655

The Eastern Caribbean Economic and Currency Union (OECS/ECCU) is one of four currency unions in the world. As in other parts of the world in the aftermath of the global economic and financial crisis, the region is at a crossroads, facing the major challenges of creating jobs, making growth more inclusive, reforming the banking system, and managing volatility, while grappling with high public debt and persistent low economic growth. Policymakers have the critical task of implementing strong reforms to strengthen the monetary union while also laying the foundation for accelerating growth. This Handbook provides a comprehensive analysis of the key issues in the OECS/ECCU, including its organization and economic and financial sector linkages, and provides policy recommendations to foster economic growth.

Regional Monetary Integration

Regional Monetary Integration
Author: Peter B. Kenen
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 199
Release: 2007-11-26
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1139466038

This book surveys the prospects for regional monetary integration in various parts of the world. Beginning with a brief review of the theory of optimal currency areas, it goes on to examine the structure and functioning of the European Monetary Union, then turns to the prospects for monetary integration elsewhere in the world - North America, South America, and East Asia. Such cooperation may take the form of full-fledged monetary unions or looser forms of monetary cooperation. The book emphasizes the economic and institutional requirements for successful monetary integration, including the need for a single central bank in the case of a full-fledged monetary union, and the corresponding need for multinational institutions to safeguard its independence and assure its accountability. The book concludes with a chapter on the implications of monetary integration for the United States and the US dollar.