Effective Practices of Macroprudential Stress Testing as a Tool of Increasing the Stability of Russian Financial System in the Context of Macroeconomic Shocks

The article examines the evolution of the prudential approach to banking regulation, examines the practical contribution of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision to the development and implementation of internationally unified practices and procedures for stress testing and supervision. The authors share the point of view that the existing methods and practices of stress testing still need improvements and methodological improvements, since they regularly allow the practical implementation of adverse scenarios leading to financial shocks and global crises. As a significant disadvantage of many actively used stress testing models, it is noted that they are often focused on complex, highly bureaucratic procedures for the preparation and analysis of financial statements, the main purpose of which is to assess the probabilities and sizes of losses and identify scenarios for the development of the situation for each specific bank, and no risks for the financial system as a whole. The authors come to the conclusion that it is advisable to prioritize the use of alternative stress testing models in crisis and post-crisis conditions, the forecasts within which are based on the actual values of financial market indicators, macroeconomic variables, and other open data. Special attention is paid to the stylized CLASS model, based on simple econometric models, as well as stress testing the current market value of V-lab. Based on the results of the study, the authors come to a number of conclusions that the role of the macroeconomic component in the procedures, methods, and algorithms for macroprudential stress testing used in Russia should increase, the degree of involvement and the sphere of responsibility for its results of key institutional units of the public administration system should expand, and macroprudential stress testing itself should not be limited to supervisory stress testing in everyday practice.

Agent-based modeling for benchmarking banking regulation regimes: Application for the CBDC

COVID-19 pandemic challenges the sustainability of the modern financial system. International central bankers claim that banks are solid. They have accumulated significant capital buffers. Those buffers should be further more augmented by 2027 in line with Basel III reforms. However, disregarding such a consecutive rise in the banking capital adequacy requirements, the US financial authorities undertook an unprecedented step. First time in the country history they lowered the reserve requirement to zero at the end of March 2020. Friedrich von Hayek demonstrated the fragility of the modern fractional reserve banking systems. Together with Ludwig von Mises (von Mises, 1978) he was thus able to predict the Great Depression of 1929 and explain its mechanics much in advance. Thus, we wish to utilize the agent-based modeling technique to extend von Hayek’s rationale to the previously unstudied interaction of capital adequacy and reserve requirement regulation. We find that the full reserve requirement regime even without capital adequacy regulation provides more stable financial environment than the existing one. Rise in capital adequacy adds to modern banking sustainability, but it still preserves the system remarkably fragile compared to the full reserve requirement. We also prove that capital adequacy regulation is redundant when the latter environment is in place. We discuss our findings application to the potential Central Bank Digital Currencies regulation.

Sweden: Early Adopter of Formal Banking Supervision with Incremental Steps

The banking supervision in Sweden was formalized incrementally over the last half of the nineteenth century when the banking sector grew and modernized. Swedish banking regulation developed out of the charter requirement, and the supervision out of the administration of the growing number of charter applications. With the creation of the Bank Bureau within the Ministry of Finance and the development of the Bank Inspector profession in the 1860s and 1870s, banking supervisory activities such as on- and off-site examinations became more frequent and standardized. The creation of the independent agency, the Bank Inspection Board, in 1906, and the transfer of supervisory executive powers from the Ministry of Finance to the new supervisory agency, were the final step of the formalization process. During the same period, banking regulation was harmonized and furthered a process of centralizations to the authorities in Stockholm.

On the money: characterizing banking and lending in the California cannabis industry

Purpose Despite 2016 legalization of recreational cannabis cultivation and sale in California with the passage of Proposition 64, many cannabis businesses operate without licenses. Furthermore, federal regulations disincentivize financial institutions from banking and lending to licensed cannabis businesses. The authors explore the impact of legal cannabis business activity on California financial institutions, the barriers to banking faced by cannabis businesses, and the nontraditional sources of financing used by the industry.Design/methodology/approach The authors use a mixed methods approach. The authors utilize call data for banks and credit unions headquartered in California and state cannabis licensing data to estimate the impact of the extensive and intensive margins of licensed cannabis activity on key banking indicators using difference-and-difference and fixed effects regressions. The qualitative data come from interviews with industry stakeholders in northern California's “Emerald Triangle” and add important context.Findings The quantitative results show economically and statistically significant impacts of licensed cannabis activity on banking indicators, suggesting both direct and spillover effects from cannabis activity to the financial sector. However, cannabis businesses report substantial barriers to accessing basic financial services and credit, leading to nontraditional financing arrangements.Practical implications The results suggest opportunities for cannabis businesses and financial institutions if regulations are eased and important avenues for further study.Originality/value The authors contribute to the nascent literature on cannabis economics and the literature on banking regulation and nontraditional finance.

The UK: Financial Globalization and Formalization of Banking Supervision

Among the developed economies, the UK was the latest to formalize banking supervision as we define it in this book. The process began in the mid-1970s following the fringe bank crisis and the simultaneous beginning of international cooperation on banking regulation matters in the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision. The crisis led to the reforms of both the Banking Act and the Bank of England Act in 1979—the Bank of England was assigned its first formal duties and responsibilities for banking supervision, and the commercial banks had to meet bank-specific requirements instead of the general corporate law. However, given the reluctance of the Bank of England to conduct banking supervisory activities as well as the Bank’s behavior to stick with the conventional informal “governor's eyebrow,” we deem the formalization process ongoing until the reforms of 1987. The Banking Act 1987 clarified the Bank of England's responsibilities and mandate regarding banking supervision, and the Board of Banking Supervision was established as a permanent formal organization to monitor and council the Bank of England on supervisory matters. The UK is an interesting case where the banking supervision remained informal until quite recently—compared to other countries. The formalization process can be explained by the crisis and the international push for harmonized banking regulation.

Liquidity risk and regulation in the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) banking industry

The recurring crises have evidenced poor liquidity risk management and ineffective regulation in banking. Consequently, banking regulations have undergone continuous reforms to bolster stability in the banking system. Nonetheless, theoretical and empirical evidence provide conflicting results that warrant comprehensive research, particularly for emerging Islamic banking. This study examines the role of banking regulation on the liquidity risk of 245 conventional banks and 68 Islamic banks from selected 14 Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) from 2000 to 2017 utilising the dynamic panel GMM (generalized method of moments) technique. We measure liquidity risk using the Net Stable Funding Ratio (NSFR) and the total financing-to-total deposits and short-term funding (LDEP). Meanwhile, the regulatory measures are asset restriction (AR), private monitoring (PM), supervisory power (SP) and capital requirements (CR). The findings suggest that regulation has a limited impact on bank liquidity risk. The CR supports the value creation of regulation through the reduction in banks’ liquidity risks, while PM and SP are agency costs of regulation that lead to higher liquidity risks. The impact of CR is lower on liquidity risk in Islamic banking than conventional ones, probably due to limited Islamic liquidity risk management facilities. Thus, regulators should strengthen Islamic liquidity risk instruments and markets to facilitate Islamic banking growth.

Comparison of Indonesian Banking Regulation for Integrated Governance, Risk Management, Compliance with Its ISO Counterparts

The research is aiming at obtaining understanding and assurance whether the regulation of Indonesia Financial Services Authority (orOtoritas Jasa Keuangan/OJK) for banking industry on Governance, Risk Management, and Compliance (GRC) in Indonesia are compatible with the requirements and suggested practices of ISO 37000/DIS on Governance, ISO 31000:2018 Risk Management, and ISO 37301: Compliance Management as international standards for Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC). The regulatory requirements as set forth by Indonesian FSA to banking industry for integrated GRC have all been compatible with all the elements of ISO 37000, ISO 31000:2018, and ISO 37301. This study utilizes a comparative study method, which is conducted by assessing the similarities and differences between two standards or regulations, or in this study, between Indonesia Financial Services Authority Regulation, or Peraturan Otoritas Jasa Keuangan (POJK) on Governance, Risk Management and Compliance (GRC), with their ISO Standards counterparts. The result is expected to show the degree of fitness of Indonesian banking regulations with these ISO standards. There is only a very small number of studies have been done in the light of calibrating the Indonesian banking regulation in Governance, Risk Management and Compliance (GRC) with their ISO counterparts. Therefore, the result of this paper could be used as generic inputs and considerations for banks which have initiated their integrated GRC practices, and/or just recently commenced, and/or improving their practices more effectively. Whereas the study provides general understanding and assurance of the compatibility, it is not supported yet by empirical evidence of how banks practically exercise the implementation of integrated GRC based on ISO 37000, ISO 31000, and ISO 37301 and how do they conduct calibration efforts to its efficacy. Therefore, it is recommended to conduct such empirical case study in several banks in Indonesia as further study. Further, a field study such as interviews and surveys with Indonesian banking professionals could also be performed to provide additional perspectives on how integrated GRC is implemented in Indonesian banking.