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Working Paper
The Informational Centrality of Banks
The equity and debt prices of large nonbank firms contain information about the future state of the banking system. In this sense, banks are informationally central. The amount of this information varies over time and over equity and debt. During a financial crisis banks are, by definition of a crisis, at risk of failure. Debt prices became about 50 percent more informative than equity prices about the future state of the banking system during the financial crisis of 2007-2009. This was partly due to investors' fears that banks might not be able to refinance the firms' debt.
Speech
Building Financial System Resilience
To conclude, a resilient financial system plays an important role in ensuring a strong economy. After the global financial crisis, steps were taken to shore up the resilience of the banking system. Systemically important banking institutions have higher capital and liquidity buffers and better risk-management systems than they did. The sound banking system was able to lend important support to households and businesses throughout the pandemic. But the financial system is dynamic, with new products, business models, and technologies being introduced, and the economic environment can change ...