scholarly journals Effect of Climate Change on Financial Institutions and the Financial System

Author(s):  
Peterson K. Ozili
Author(s):  
M. John Plodinec

Abstract Over the last decade, communities have become increasingly aware of the risks they face. They are threatened by natural disasters, which may be exacerbated by climate change and the movement of land masses. Growing globalization has made a pandemic due to the rapid spread of highly infectious diseases ever more likely. Societal discord breeds its own threats, not the least of which is the spread of radical ideologies giving rise to terrorism. The accelerating rate of technological change has bred its own social and economic risks. This widening spectrum of risk poses a difficult question to every community – how resilient will the community be to the extreme events it faces. In this paper, we present a new approach to answering that question. It is based on the stress testing of financial institutions required by regulators in the United States and elsewhere. It generalizes stress testing by expanding the concept of “capital” beyond finance to include the other “capitals” (e.g., human, social) possessed by a community. Through use of this approach, communities can determine which investments of its capitals are most likely to improve its resilience. We provide an example of using the approach, and discuss its potential benefits.


2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Hauser

AbstractThe zero risk weight privilege for European sovereign debt in the current capital adequacy requirements for credit institutions incentivises credit institutions to acquire and hold sovereign debt. However, it also poses a significant risk to the stability of the banking system and thus the financial system as a whole. It is argued that this privilege should not only be abolished due to the risk it entails but that it is also non conformant with EU primary law. Art. 124 TFEU prohibits privileged access of the EU and Member States' public sector to financial institutions except for prudential considerations. The protective purpose of Art. 124 TFEU to ensure sound budgetary policies by subjecting public borrowing to the same rules as borrowing by other market participants is thwarted by the uniform zero risk weight privilege. Further, as this privilege does not take into account the varying creditworthiness of the individual Member States it does not promote the soundness of financial institutions so as to strengthen the soundness of the financial system as whole, but rather endangers systemic stability. The zero risk weight privilege is therefore not based on prudential considerations and hence violates Art. 124 TFEU.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Candauda Arachchige Saliya ◽  
Suesh Kumar Pandey

Purpose This paper aims to investigate how and to what extent the Fijian sustainable banking regulations or guidelines are designed, communicated, implemented and monitored within the financial system in Fiji. A scorecard is introduced for this purpose to assess the effectiveness of Fiji’s financial battle against climate change (FBACC). Design/methodology/approach This study uses a mixed-method methodology. Data were collected mainly from a survey and supplemented by interviews, observations and documents. The scorecard was developed by building on existing two theoretical frameworks, namely, the Sustainable Banking Assessment and Climate Change Governance Index, to make them more appropriate and practically applicable to less developed financial systems in emerging economies such as Fiji. This FBACC scorecard consists of four perspectives, eight critical factors and 24 criteria. Findings The results show that the overall FBACC score averages 40.75%, and all the perspectives scored below 50%, the benchmark. Only the CF “policy” scored 54.25% because of a high positive response of 82.3% for the “political leadership” criterion. The relative contributions of each perspective in constructing the overall score are distributed as 28%, 25%, 24% and 23% among planning, action, accountability and control, respectively. Research limitations/implications These results were complemented by the information shared during the interviews and confirmed that the existing political initiatives need to be effectively communicated and/or implemented in the financial system by the regulatory agencies. Practical implications This FBACC scorecard can be applied to other underdeveloped systems in emerging countries to assess the effectiveness of the sustainable banking regulations and/or guidelines in those countries in relation to the FBACC. It can also be applied to individual firms to assess their contribution to the FBACC. Originality/value To the authors’ best knowledge, this might be the first study in Fiji that considers the impact of climate-related financial risk on the Fijian financial system.


FEDS Notes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 (2877) ◽  
Author(s):  
Celso Brunetti ◽  
◽  
Benjamin Dennis ◽  
Dylan Gates ◽  
Diana Hancock ◽  
...  

This Note describes how risks arising from climate change may affect financial stability. We describe how climate-change related risks may emerge either as shocks to the financial system or as financial system vulnerabilities that could amplify the effects of these or other shocks.


VUZF Review ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 160-170
Author(s):  
Małgorzata Hala

The aim of the article is to present the role of the financial system in economic growth and development. The first part presents the traditional understanding of the relationship between the economic system and economic growth. The second part presents the experience of financial crises and their impact on the conversation on the mutual relations between the financial sector and the real sector. The third part shows the role of the state in the financial system. The article describes the arrangement of interrelated financial institutions, financial markets and elements of the financial system infrastructure.  It shows what part of the economic system the financial system is, and whether it enables the provision of services allowing the circulation of purchasing power throughout the economy. The article presents the important role of the financial system, the role related to the transfer of capital from entities with savings to entities that need capital for investments. It shows the financial system as a set of logically related organizational forms, legal acts, financial institutions and other elements enabling entities to establish financial relations in the real sector and the financial sector, and this system forms the basis of activity for entities using money, enabling the conclusion of various economic transactions, in which money performs various functions. The article also presents the concept of a financial crisis as a situation in which there are rapid changes in the financial market, usually associated with insufficient liquidity or insolvency of banks or financial institutions, and as a result, a decrease in production or its deepening. The article also includes issues related to the impact of public authorities (state and local authorities) on the financial system in the economy.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 27-43
Author(s):  
Nikola Fabris

AbstractFighting climate change is one of the biggest challenges in the 21st century. Climate change that leads to global warming has been increasingly visible in our environment. Extreme weather conditions such as hurricanes, floods, and droughts have been escalating and their acceleration can be expected in the future. They cause changes in sea levels, epidemics, large fires, etc. Increasingly, we are witnessing minor or major damage caused by these extreme weather conditions. Numerous studies have proven that climate change has negative impact on economic growth and prosperity. However, this paper starts from the premise that in addition to unequivocally identified threats, climate change also creates opportunities.The paper reaches a conclusion that climate change can adversely affect balance sheets of financial institutions. Therefore, climate change is a source of financial risk and thus a part of the mandate of central banks and supervisors in preserving financial stability. This type of risk has not been given enough attention by either supervisors or financial institutions over the past period. This paper develops a model for managing financial risks as a result of climate change.


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