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Working Paper
The Dollar Channel of Monetary Policy Transmission
This paper documents a new dollar channel that transmits monetary policy across borders. Exploiting unique features of the syndicated loan market for identification, we show that changes in the euro-dollar exchange rate around ECB monetary policy announcements that are orthogonal to simultaneous changes in euro-area interest rates and stock prices affect U.S. leveraged loan spreads. Specifically, in response to dollar appreciation, investors require higher compensation for risk, and borrowing costs for U.S. firms increase. These findings imply a causal link between the U.S. dollar and ...
Discussion Paper
Assessing Bank Resilience to a Funding Shock
Deposits are the largest source of funding for U.S. banks, representing approximately two-thirds of liabilities. Deposits also remain key to bank profitability, as they typically function as a stable source of long-term funding at a cost well-below interest earned on bank assets.
Discussion Paper
Trade Finance Activities of U.S. Banks: What the Data Can Tell Us
Trade finance encompasses a range of financial instruments and services designed to facilitate international trade. U.S. banks are key providers of these services. This note draws on several regulatory data sources to show that trade finance supports a sizeable share of international trade, is highly concentrated in large U.S. banks, and has declined over time.
Discussion Paper
Examining the Sensitivity of Regional Banks to Macroeconomic Shocks
Following the Global Financial Crisis (GFC), banking supervision and regulation became more stringent for largest banks, particularly systemically important institutions and those with at least $100 billion in consolidated total assets. However, the 2023 stress period following the default of the Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) highlighted that problems at regional banks, which we define as banks between $10 billion and $100 billion in assets, may also cause broader banking system stress.
Discussion Paper
Who Owns U.S. CLO Securities
Despite the increasing importance of U.S. CLOs, information on the holders of U.S. CLO securities is very limited. This note provides a breakdown of CLO investors by location and investor type using data from the Treasury International Capital (TIC) system. We find that most U.S. CLOs are held by U.S. investors and that the holdings are concentrated in insurance companies, mutual funds, and depository institutions.
Discussion Paper
Who Owns U.S. CLO Securities? An Update by Tranche
Against the backdrop of the COVID-19 crisis, leveraged loans have deteriorated and concerns about CLOs, the main buyers of loans on the secondary market, have increased. These concerns have reduced the demand for new CLOs, making it harder for firms to borrow through leveraged loans on the primary market, as banks have found it more difficult to sell loans on the secondary market.
Discussion Paper
How the Federal Reserve's Central Bank Swap Lines Have Supported U.S. Corporate Borrowers in the Leveraged Loan Market
The cost of borrowing U.S. dollars through foreign exchange (FX) swap markets increased significantly in the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic in February 2020, indicated by larger deviations from Covered Interest Rate Parity (CIP). CIP deviations narrowed again when the Federal Reserve expanded its swap lines to support U.S. dollar liquidity globally—by enhancing and extending its swap facility with foreign central banks and introducing the new temporary Foreign and International Monetary Authorities (FIMA) repurchase agreement facility.
Working Paper
Institutional Investors, the Dollar, and U.S. Credit Conditions
This paper documents that an appreciation of the U.S. dollar is associated with a reduction in the supply of commercial and industrial loans by U.S. banks. An increase in the broad dollar index by 2.5 points (one standard deviation) reduces U.S. banks' corporate loan originations by 10 percent. This decline is driven by a reduction in the demand for loans on the secondary market where prices fall and liquidity worsens when the dollar appreciates, with stronger effects for riskier loans. Today, the main buyers of U.S. corporate loans---and, hence, suppliers of funding for these loans---are ...
Working Paper
Learning and the Value of Trade Relationships
This paper quantifies the value of importer-exporter relationships. We show that almost 80 percent of U.S. imports take place in pre-existing relationships, with sizable heterogeneity across countries, and show that traded quantities and survival increase as relationships age. We develop a two-country general equilibrium trade model with learning that is consistent with these facts. A model-based measure of relationship value explains survival during the 2008-09 crisis. Knowledge accumulated within long-term relationships is quantitatively important: wiping out all memory from previous ...
Working Paper
International Trade Risk and the Role of Banks
International trade exposes exporters and importers to substantial risks. To mitigate these risks, firms can buy special trade finance products from banks. This paper explores under which conditions and to what extent firms use these products. We find that letters of credit and documentary collections cover about 10 percent of U.S. exports and are preferred for larger transactions, indicating substantial fixed costs. Letters of credit are employed the most for exports to countries with intermediate contract enforcement. Compared to documentary collections, they are used for riskier ...