Sovereign-bank linkages: Quantifying directional intensity of risk transfers in EMU countries (original) (raw)

The sovereign-bank nexus in peripheral euro area: Further evidence from contingent claims analysis

The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, 2019

New evidence is presented on the nexus between the sovereign and banking sector risk. Applying the contingent claims methodology to the peripheral euro area countries over the 2004Q4-2013Q2 period, we build indicators of sovereign and bank risk and assess their interconnection in comparison with existing market-based indicators of bank and sovereign distress. We use three different statistical measures of interdependence based on principal components analysis, Granger causality framework and Diebold-Yilmaz's connectedness index. The empirical results show strong interconnection and co-movement between country-level banking and sovereign risk indicators. We also find evidence of bi-directional bank-sovereign causal linkages only for Spain during the European sovereign debt crisis period. For the late crisis period, we detect weak interrelationship and more divergence across the various risk indicators. Our findings indicate that secondary and derivatives market indices are more driven by common underlying factors than are contingent claim based risk measures. Finally, our results also suggest that market participants risk appetite was the main channel of risk transmission between sovereigns and banks for the countries under study during the sample period.

Bank-sovereign risk spillovers in the Euro Area

Applied Economics Letters, 2020

This paper investigates the cross-sectional spillovers between banking and sovereign risk in the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) countries. Average 'distance-todefault' based on all publicly listed banks headquartered in a particular country is used as an indicator of banking risk, while 10-year sovereign yield as the measure of sovereign risk. Using spillover measure proposed by Diebold and Yilmaz (2014), we find evidence of clustering among banks and sovereigns in peripheral and central countries. Except for peripheral countries banks, rest of the clusters are well isolated from each other.

Financial stability in Europe: Banking and sovereign risk

Journal of Financial Stability

We analyze the link between banking sector quality and sovereign risk in the whole European Union over 1999-2014. We employ four different indicators of sovereign risk (including market-and opinion-based assessments), a rich set of theoretically and empirically motivated banking sector characteristics, and a Bayesian inference in panel estimation as a methodology. We show that a higher proportion of non-performing loans is the single most influential sectorspecific variable that is associated with increased sovereign risk. The sector's depth provides mixed results. The stability (capital adequacy ratio) and size (TBA) of the industry are linked to lower sovereign risk in general. Foreign bank penetration and competition (a more diversified structure of the industry) are linked to lower sovereign risk. Our results also support the wakeup call hypothesis in that markets re-appraised a number of banking sector-related issues in the pricing of sovereign risk after the onset of the sovereign crisis in Europe.

Bank and Sovereign Debt Risk Connection

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2012

Euro area data show a positive connection between sovereign and bank risk, which increases with banks' and sovereign long run fragility. We build a macro model with banks subject to moral hazard and liquidity risk (sudden deposit withdrawals): banks invest in risky government bonds as a form of capital buffer against liquidity risk. The model can replicate the positive connection between sovereign and bank risk observed in the data. Central bank liquidity policy, through full allotment policy, is successful in stabilizing the spiraling feedback loops between bank and sovereign risk. JEL classification: E5, G3, E6.

Country risk on the bank borrowing cost dispersion within the Euro area during the Financial and Debt crises

International Journal of Economics and Business Administration, 2018

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of the country risk factors on the dispersion of the cost of bank borrowing within the euro area, during the period of the global financial and Eurozone debt crises. The main aim is to empirically evaluate the degree to which the cost of borrowing differentials of euro area countries can be explained by changing dispersion in country risk (measured by government bond spreads). The results using rolling estimations suggest that the impacts of bond yield spreads are not such a significant determinant of the observed dispersion of the cost of borrowing, a dispersion that has been worsen after the outbreak of the global financial crisis and the subsequent euro area debt crisis. Even in the cases where a significant association is found for some countries, it seems that it is weakening as we move further away from the beginning of the turbulent periods.

The vulnerability of banks to government default risk in the EMU

International Finance, 2001

This paper examines the vulnerability of banks in EMU countries to shocks to default risk premiums on public debt. This vulnerability depends on the total amount of public debt in bank portfolios, the degree of geographical diversification of public debt holdings by banks, and the extent to which the default risk of EMU governments is diversifiable. We calculate the effect of country-specific default shocks on the public debt portfolios of banks. The calculations are based on data of public debt positions at the aggregate banking sector level and take into account the historical covariance structure of default risk premiums in the EMU. We compare the following scenarios. First, we calculate the effect on the standard deviation of the capital-toassets ratio if banks continue to hold mainly domestic public debt. Next,

The EU sovereign debt crisis: potential effects on EU banking systems and policy options

This paper aims at investigating some of the critical issues highlighted by the sovereign debt crisis in European Union (EU) Member States (MS). The goal is twofold: 1) Quantify the increase in the risks of the EU banking systems due to haircuts of sovereign debts of some EU Member States, which have been particularly touched by the sovereign crisis; 2) evaluate and compare the policy options which have been adopted to address the issue. The first goal is achieved by estimating the increase in the banks Probability to Default (PD), due to the haircuts in sovereingn debts, through a further development of the SYMBOL model to estimate the PDs by numerical inversion of the Basel FIRB formula for minimum capital requirements. For the second objective the measures within the Basel III Accord, which among the others increases the quality and quantity of capital that banks should set aside to cover from unexpected losses, are compared with the agreement on bank recapitalisation and funding...

Sovereign Exposures of European Banks: It Is Not All Doom

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2019

In this paper we investigate whether or not observed changes in the composition of the sovereign bond portfolios of European banks are determined by a risk-return trade-off. Banks have been shown to disproportionally invest in bonds issued by their domestic sovereign, causing a negative bank-sovereign doom loop. Several motivations for such behavior have been demonstrated in the extant literature, such as e.g., search for yield or moral suasion, which from an investment perspective all involve some degree of irrational behavior. We depart from this approach and investigate the risk-return trade-off in the bank sovereign bond portfolios. We use data from all stress tests and transparency exercises conducted by the EBA between 2011 and 2018 for a sample of 76 European banks. Using the Sharpe ratio for the risk-return assessment, we find that over the entire period banks' investments and divestments of sovereign bonds are characterized by rational risk-return considerations. Moreover, both bond risk (measured by the standard deviation of bond returns) as well as sovereign risk (sovereign CDS spreads) are negatively related to bond buying, implying that, on average, banks do not engage in excessive risk-taking behavior in their sovereign bond portfolios. Our main conclusion is that over the 2011-2018 period banks may have exhibited spells of excessive risk behavior in their sovereign bond buying, but over the entire period their sovereign bond investments exhibit a sound risk-return trade-off. These findings have implications for policy initiatives to tackle concentrations in sovereign bond holdings by European banks.

Bank and sovereign debt risk connection:[draft december 2012]

Euro area data show a positive connection between sovereign and bank risk, which increases with banks' and sovereign long run fragility. We build a macro model with banks subject to incentive problems and liquidity risk (in the form of liquidity based banks' runs) which provides a link between endogenous bank capital and macro and policy risk. Our banks also invest in risky government bonds used as capital buffer to self-insure against liquidity risk. The model can replicate the positive connection between sovereign and bank risk observed in the data. Central bank liquidity policy, through full allotment policy, is successful in stabilizing the spiraling feedback loops between bank and sovereign risk.