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What Does the 2023 Banking Crisis Mean for the Future of Banking?

November 11, 2024 / 33:24

This episode discusses the future of banking with guests Hyun Song Shin and Loretta Mester. Key topics include the March 2023 banking failures, regulatory responses, and lessons learned for monetary policy.

Itay Goldstein, the host, introduces the episode by highlighting the recent failures of Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank, and First Republic Bank, as well as the turmoil at Credit Suisse. He notes that these events marked a significant moment in banking since the 2008 financial crisis.

Hyun Song Shin explains the unique aspects of the 2023 banking stress, emphasizing that it was not a systemic crisis like 2008. He discusses the role of macroeconomic factors, such as inflation and interest rates, in the failures.

Loretta Mester adds that poor risk management at Silicon Valley Bank, particularly regarding interest rate risks and a high proportion of uninsured deposits, contributed to its downfall. She also critiques the supervisory response from the Federal Reserve.

The conversation concludes with reflections on the future of the banking system, including potential changes in regulation, the impact of technology, and the importance of effective supervision.

TL;DR

Experts discuss the March 2023 banking failures and future banking regulations with a focus on risk management and monetary policy.

Episode

33:24
00:00:05
Itay Goldstein: Welcome. Today we are going to talk about the
00:00:08
Future of Banking. I am Itay Goldstein, Professor of Finance
00:00:12
here at Wharton, and the Chair of the Finance Department. And I
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am very honored to have two distinguished guests to help us
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dive into this conversation, into this important topic. I
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have Hyun Song Shin, who is an economic advisor and the Head of
00:00:30
Research in the Bank for International Settlements.
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Hello, Hyun.
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Hello, Itay. Good to join you.
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Great to see you.
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And Loretta Mester, who just stepped down from being the
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President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland.
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Hello, Loretta.
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Hi. Great to be with you, Itay.
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So in March of 2023, we had an unusual string of events in the
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global banking arena. Failures of institutions here in the
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United States— Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank of New York
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and First Republic Bank. And of course, the turmoil in Credit
00:01:15
Suisse over in Europe. This was the biggest episode altogether
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since the global financial crisis of 2008, and it had a
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ripple effect on financial markets worldwide, financial
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institutions and the global economy, with quick intervention
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from regulators in Europe and in the United States. Looking now at
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the future of banking, I think we are looking into a new era
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with some new lessons that have been learned and some new
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policies that will be in place. And I'm here with Hyun and
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Loretta to dive into these topics and learn some more and
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talk about what we can expect going forward. So let me get
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started by thinking about what happened in March of 2023. What
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were the causes of these events? Is there any common unifying
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theme? Is there any connection to the policies that were in
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place in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis? So Hyun,
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why don't you get started?
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Yeah. Itay, I think those are very good questions, and I think
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we can certainly learn lessons from what happened in the spring
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of 2023. In some ways, you know, there are some classical
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lessons, you know, from the events, both in the US and also
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in Europe. But in a very important— in a very important
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respect, the backing stress last spring was very unlike what
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we saw during the GFC. I mean, as you well know, the GFC was a
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major systemic banking crisis when many, many very leveraged
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institutions were under stress on the funding side. And the
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theme was very much on the— on the wholesale funding. You know,
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of these large banks. And you may recall all the discussions about
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shadow banking and all the special purpose vehicles and so
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on. But in the— in the stress in the US, it was much more to do
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with the classical theme of— of depository rights that actually
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you have really contributed a lot on. I think it's important to
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bear in mind the macro backdrop. You know, we had this burst of
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inflation in 2021, and so central banks raised rates in '22 and
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what that meant was that some of the securities holdings of
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banks, you know, lost value in a mark-to-market sense. But you
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know, many of these securities were held on a— on a— on a
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UTMA maturity basis, which meant that the losses needn't be
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recognized, you know, as they as they lose value. But in this
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case, in the case of SVB, for example, there was a— already a
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very large increase in deposits, which were then, you know, put
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into these securities. But when you have a run, you do need to
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sell the assets, and that's when the— you know— losses would be
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realized. So I think that was a very particular feature of the
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macro environment at that time. But it wasn't a systemic
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crisis, and those— you know in the same way that the 2008
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global financial crisis was. The story with Credit Suisse
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was actually somewhat different still, because, you know, this
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was a major, globally systemic banking institution. It
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wasn't a retail institution in the same way that some of the
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smaller banks were in the US. But what it saw was, you know,
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after a series of mishaps in its— you know, in its—
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in its business, the stresses that were happening at that time
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meant that its wholesale creditors were actually, you
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know, similarly withdrawing, you know, their funding. And so
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it was a slightly different episode, but it shares the same
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kinds of commonalities in the sense that it was a liability-
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side driven event that interacted with the asset site.
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I think that would be one way of putting it.
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Thank you. And Loretta, some reflections from you.
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Yeah. Yeah. I mean, fundamentally, I think there
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were two key factors for SVB, Silicon Valley. And they were
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just doing very poor interest rate risk management. The Bank
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had, as Hyun said, you know— the bank had tripled in size in a
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very short period of time in terms of its assets. And it was
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funding those securities with a very high proportion of
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uninsured deposits. Over 90% of their funding, short term
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funding, was uninsured deposits. So they were very vulnerable.
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And they weren't really managing that risk. In fact, they kind of
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leaned into that risk because they— they moved securities into
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the held-to-maturity buckets on their balance sheet, so they
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wouldn't have to mark them to market. And then they were also
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vulnerable in another way, in the sense that they had a very
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concentrated depositor base. So a majority of their deposits
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came from firms that were in tech and venture capital. And of
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course, when venture capitals got under— you know, started—
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their activities started declining as interest rates
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increased— they found themselves in trouble. And they really
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weren't managing that risk at all. But the second factor— and
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you know, we know banks are basically, you know, set up to
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sort of lend long and borrow short. And so they're— they are
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subject to interest rate risk, and it's up to them to manage
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the risk. But we also have bank supervision. And supervisors are
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supposed to, you know, make sure that banks are managing their
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risk in a safe and sound manner so that they can continue to
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lend and, you know, serve their important roles that they do for
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their customers. And in this case, bank supervision also was
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very weak. The supervisors didn't— and the Fed was
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responsible for much of this. The Fed— we didn't really
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understand the vulnerabilities of SVB, and especially as the
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institution grew in size. And once the vulnerabilities were
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fully appreciated, then the supervisors didn't act quickly
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enough and forcefully enough to get SVB management to fix the
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problems they were having. So I would say it would be a
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combination of both poor interest rate management, risk
00:08:16
management on parts of SVB— and of course, they're the the chief
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ones who were supposed to manage that risk. And then also
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combined with weak bank supervision that, you know,
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really wasn't done with speed and agility in a changing
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interest rate environment. So Hyun was right. When interest rates
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began rising, and they rose aggressively, it really revealed
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the vulnerabilities in that bank. And then what happened
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was, of course, once depositors sort of woke up and said, "Oh,
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we're— we have some concerns here." And they were alerted to
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this fact because SVB tried to do a capital raise and had to
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sell assets to do so, so they had to take those losses. Then
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depositors started to run, and that— while it wasn't a systemic
00:09:05
event at the moment, it did cause runs at other banks, like
00:09:09
First Republic and Signature Bank. And there was concern that
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it would become a systemic event. And many large regional
00:09:18
banks suffered in terms of depositors running. And, you
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know, this may be indicative of, we have not solved "too big to
00:09:26
fail." The deposits ran into very large banks because the
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depositors believe that those banks would not be allowed to
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fail. So we have not solved that problem. Coming out of the— the,
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you know, financial crisis, there were a lot of reforms
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done. Dodd-Frank, you know, part of that was to try to address
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the "too big to fail" problem. And I think this episode shows that
00:09:49
that has not been adequately addressed. So— so I agree with
00:09:53
Hyun. There's— there are lessons here, certainly, that the
00:09:57
regulators and the Federal Reserve are taking to heart in
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terms of how we do supervision and also regulatory changes. But
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here, I'd put more of the burden on the supervisory part
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of it, not the regulations themselves.
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So let me follow up on this. You both mentioned the connection to
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monetary policy. And Loretta, you said that there are lessons now
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going forward for supervision and regulation. But another
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question is, what are the lessons going forward for the
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way that the Fed is conducting monetary policy? To the extent
00:10:32
that you can say something about that?
00:10:35
Well, remember, this all happened in early March, and
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there was an FOMC meeting on March 22 of that year. To—
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March, 22, 2023.
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And at that meeting, the Fed persevered and—
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in its interest rate increase. So it did another increase of 25
00:10:52
basis points. So we didn't allow the stresses in the banking
00:10:56
system, per se, to deter from what needed to be done from a
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monetary policy point of view, given where inflation was.
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Because inflation at the time was running above 5% and it was
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clearly well above the goal of 2% and unemployment was very low
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at the time. So of course, the obvious thing to do with your
00:11:18
monetary policy is to tighten interest rates again. And we did
00:11:23
not let those stresses— however, you know, there was certainly a
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lot of focus on whether those stresses would become wider
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spread. And there was concern, if you recall, when SVB failed,
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the Fed also set— had to set up an emergency lending facility,
00:11:46
the bank term funding program, and that allowed banks to— that
00:11:51
were having liquidity issues— to put these securities that they
00:11:55
were holding on their balance sheet at face value, they could
00:11:58
actually put them at the Fed at fair value and borrow against
00:12:03
them so they wouldn't have to sell them. That program,
00:12:07
combined with what the Treasury and FDIC did for some of the
00:12:11
banks, which basically said, we're going to make sure that
00:12:14
all deposits are insured, that kind of quelled the stresses. So,
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you know, the FMC felt, you know, that there was risk out
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there of continuing on its campaign of raising interest
00:12:26
rates, but it was the right thing to do from a monetary
00:12:29
policy point of view. And then we'd have to very, very— be
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attuned to those risks, because if they did— you know, you need
00:12:36
to have a healthy banking system for two reasons. One, you want
00:12:40
monetary policy, whatever action you take on the policy
00:12:43
front, to actually transmit through the broader economy.
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When the financial markets aren't working, when they're
00:12:47
disruptive, monetary policy won't transmit. But also, we
00:12:51
wanted the banks to remain healthy and not pull back on all
00:12:55
the credit extension, because they were actually support—
00:12:57
helping to support the economy as well. So there was a lot of
00:13:01
discussion about— and, you know, we've got to continue monitoring
00:13:05
this. But we were able to persevere and and put another
00:13:10
interest rate increase in. And that's thanks to—
00:13:13
really likes to use, you know, regulation, supervision, macro
00:13:18
credential, to the extent we have it in the US. Tools to focus
00:13:23
on financial stability. And then have its monetary policy tools,
00:13:26
interest rate increases or asset purchases and balance sheet
00:13:31
policies, really focused on the macro policy goals of full
00:13:36
employment and price stability. And so we were able to do that,
00:13:41
but there was a lot of attention paid to, we are taking some risk
00:13:46
here. And you'd have to sort of make an evaluation of whether
00:13:50
you thought we could continue on that. And we were looking at
00:13:53
that. I think the broader question, Itay, and maybe this is
00:13:57
one that you were alluding to, was— you know, we— we were
00:14:04
raising interest rates very quickly. You know, unprecedented
00:14:07
quickness in how we were having to raise interest rates.
00:14:10
We had to do that, given where inflation was. But no one felt
00:14:15
that, you know, we, we— that— we would have preferred not to have
00:14:19
to do that. Let's put it that way. But monetary policy was so
00:14:23
out of position for where it needed to be, given what was
00:14:26
going on in the macro economy, that we we had to do that. So I
00:14:30
think one of the lessons is, is don't let your monetary policy
00:14:34
get out of position. Always maintain it being in a good
00:14:38
position, which means always being attuned to the risk.
00:14:41
Upside risk, downside risk, inflation risk, unemployment
00:14:45
risk, so that you aren't in a position where you feel you have
00:14:48
to really move quickly and at large increases or decreases,
00:14:54
which can be hard for financial markets and institutions to handle.
00:14:58
Yeah, that's a that's a very important lesson. So Hyun,
00:15:02
turning back to you, you sit in the Bank for International
00:15:06
Settlements, and you think a lot about international coordination
00:15:10
of financial regulation and supervision, what happens with
00:15:15
cross border transactions and international banks. And you
00:15:21
know, to some extent what happened in March of 2023, a lot
00:15:25
of it was concentrated in the US, but then we saw how the
00:15:29
panic and sentiment kind of spread over and affected Credit
00:15:34
Suisse in Switzerland. Even though the fundamentals there,
00:15:39
the situation there, was very different.
00:15:41
So what do you think
00:15:43
are the lessons going forward for coordination at the
00:15:46
international level?
00:15:48
Well, Itay, I think, of course, you know, regulation is— is going to
00:15:52
be a— you know, very important, you know, building block in— in
00:15:55
any kind of financial stability framework. But let me just
00:16:00
underline one thing that Loretta said, which I think is very,
00:16:04
very important, which is that— as well as the regulation, which
00:16:09
is clearly, you know, very important. And that is something
00:16:11
that is discussed at the International forums like the—
00:16:16
like the Basel Committee for Banking Supervision. Supervision
00:16:20
itself is going to be really the key, actually. And I think what
00:16:24
the events of last year showed was how important it is to get
00:16:28
the basics of supervision right. So the way— the way you should
00:16:34
think about the difference between regulation and
00:16:37
supervision is, you know, regulation are the hard rules.
00:16:40
You know, the ratios, particular numbers, capital and
00:16:44
liquidity and so on. But the supervision really has to do
00:16:49
with, you know, the business model. How coherent is it? How
00:16:52
good is the risk management? And as Loretta explained very well,
00:16:57
you know, it was those business model issues, the risk
00:17:01
management issues, which really came to the fore. And so before
00:17:05
we even go to regulation, I think we have to emphasize how
00:17:08
important supervision is. And that's really done at the
00:17:12
national level. So it's the national supervisors who are,
00:17:15
you know, in the driving seat. Now, with the regulation, what—
00:17:20
what will be important for the international, you know, forums
00:17:24
like the Basel Committee, would be when competition also becomes
00:17:30
part of the— part of the discussion. So one of the— you
00:17:33
know, if you— if you go back to the very first Basel Capital
00:17:39
Accord, back in 1988, you know that that accord came about
00:17:44
because of this— because of the consensus, I think, among all
00:17:50
the supervisors, that there needed to be a way to make sure
00:17:54
that the internationally active banks who compete in
00:17:58
various, you know, markets globally, are competing on a
00:18:03
level playing field. So, you know, no one jurisdiction is—
00:18:08
you know, that is deviating very much from others, in that, you
00:18:11
know, one— in that that jurisdiction, its bank somehow
00:18:15
has an advantage, you know, competitively. And so it's a way
00:18:20
to prevent this race to the bottom, or potential race to the
00:18:24
bottom, where, if the competition is unfair, then some
00:18:32
banks may be at a greater advantage relative to other
00:18:35
banks. And so that's really the role of the international
00:18:39
coordination. And this is what the Basel Committee is— you
00:18:46
know, has been a very, very important piece in this— in this
00:18:52
international discussion. But it's very important to emphasize
00:18:56
that the— you know, it is the national supervisors who are in
00:18:59
the driving seat. And whatever is discussed in the Basel Committee
00:19:04
doesn't have the same kind of legal force as, you know,
00:19:09
something like an international treaty. I mean, it's very much a
00:19:12
discussion shop. And whatever is discussed is then implemented by
00:19:17
the national— you know, by the national authorities. So I think—
00:19:22
so to that extent, the lessons that I think we learned in March
00:19:27
of last year, they're being actively discussed in ways—
00:19:34
through various, if you like, strengthening at the national
00:19:38
level of the national regulation. So liquidity,
00:19:42
clearly, is a very important part of this. And, you know,
00:19:47
this is still, you know, very much in process at the moment.
00:19:51
But I think it's— I would say that the— that the role of
00:19:55
international discussions has to be sort of, you know, put in
00:20:00
this broader context. So there is a fairly limited role there
00:20:04
in terms of coming up with specific recommendations. But
00:20:08
it's very much a part of the consensus building among the
00:20:13
national supervisors.
00:20:15
- Okay. And a different aspect of government intervention,
00:20:20
government involvement, I would say, is deposit insurance. For
00:20:25
many years, this was a very important part of addressing
00:20:29
financial fragility and preventing crisis. We saw that
00:20:35
deposit insurance was updated in the US in 2008 following the
00:20:39
beginning of the global financial crisis. Since then, it
00:20:43
hasn't been updated. But then in March of 2023, after the run on
00:20:49
SVB and the beginning of runs in other banks, there was this
00:20:54
shift to kind of implying that everyone will be guaranteed,
00:20:58
whether they are insured or not. And now there are discussions.
00:21:03
Maybe the policy should be updated. Maybe there shouldn't
00:21:06
be a limit. Maybe there should be some distinction on what is
00:21:09
the limit on different kinds of deposit, different kind of
00:21:12
accounts. So where do you think this is going, deposit insurance?
00:21:17
And I think either one of you could take this question.
00:21:23
Well, Itay, you're right. There are a lot of proposals out
00:21:25
there. I mean, whenever I— whenever I think about these
00:21:28
things, I always think about you, you want to sort of have
00:21:31
market discipline working with bank supervision and bank
00:21:36
regulatory rules, including deposit insurance. So I'm not
00:21:39
sure the first place I would go would necessarily be to just
00:21:44
have a blanket increase in the cap on deposit insurance,
00:21:49
which is at 250,000 per depositor at this point. But
00:21:54
there are things that are probably worth considering. I
00:21:56
mean, and one thing is, is well— that's smaller now
00:22:00
than when it was set in 2008. Because, of course, the economy
00:22:03
has gotten bigger. So there are people who think that, well, you
00:22:06
could just adjust— you should adjust that just on that
00:22:08
ground. But I also think you want to think a little more
00:22:13
thoughtfully about, one, what would be the trade off there?
00:22:18
Because someone has to pay for that higher level of a deposit
00:22:22
insurance. Right now, the banks pay fees. But if they're paying
00:22:26
that, and they're covering that, then of course, they wouldn't be
00:22:29
able to lend as much. So you have to think about whether
00:22:32
that's the right approach. I think one thing that became
00:22:36
clear in this SVB situation was that, you know, a lot of their
00:22:41
customers and firms, and even of other regional banks, were really
00:22:45
concerned that they wouldn't be able to pay their customers, you
00:22:48
know, pay their workers. You know, payroll. They were doing
00:22:50
payroll services. And so there is an idea that you could
00:22:55
distinguish business accounts, transactions accounts, from
00:23:00
other kinds of deposits and have a special account and special,
00:23:05
you know, deposit insurance for those, because those are really
00:23:08
important for the functioning of the economy. But the whole idea
00:23:12
of these is to try to make sure that depositors don't feel that
00:23:15
they're in a situation that they have to run to be the first to
00:23:18
take their money out of the bank. The other approach, aside
00:23:21
from deposit insurance, which I think for the US in particular,
00:23:25
is— and there's work going on— is, you know, we have a discount
00:23:29
window. And the discount window is the Federal Reserve, as a
00:23:33
central bank, lends to healthy firms when they have temporary
00:23:40
liquidity problems, as long as it's backed with, you know, good
00:23:43
collateral. In the case of— of this, of the stresses in March,
00:23:48
you know, it became very clear that the regional banks— not the
00:23:51
ones that were on the way to failure, but the ones that were
00:23:53
finding that it was hard to fund in the— in the environment that
00:23:57
we were in with the stress— were very reluctant to come to the
00:24:01
discount window. They didn't— they didn't really feel that
00:24:04
they could, without stigmatizing themselves. And I— in other
00:24:09
countries, their lending is not as stigmatized. At some
00:24:13
countries, it's not at all, compared to the US. So there's
00:24:16
work going on at the Federal Reserve to try to make the
00:24:20
discount window much more attractive in terms of making
00:24:24
sure that banks know and are well positioned to be able to
00:24:28
use the discount window. So for example, you know, the legal
00:24:32
documents that— agreements that have to be in place— there's a
00:24:35
big campaign to make sure that firms, the banks and
00:24:39
institutions that are eligible to borrow at the discount window,
00:24:43
have those already in place. That they have collateral
00:24:46
already evaluated, so that they can borrow much more quickly
00:24:51
than was the case during the stresses of March 2023. So— and
00:24:56
that has been very worthwhile. I think, the number of
00:25:00
institutions now— I think that if you think— if you think about
00:25:02
banks, as well as credit unions, who are eligible to borrow, it's
00:25:07
probably around 8000 institutions. And I think it's well
00:25:10
over 5000 that have those legal documents in place now. So
00:25:13
there's been work to try to do that. But ultimately, it's still
00:25:17
a bit stigmatized. Even if— even if banks are able to borrow,
00:25:22
will they borrow? And so there's work going on to try to maybe
00:25:29
give a carrot as well as a stick. So for example, include
00:25:32
discount window contingent funding as part of the liquidity
00:25:37
plans that banks have to submit as part of their showing that
00:25:42
they're doing safe and sound liquidity management. Or, you
00:25:46
know, making sure that borrowing from the discount window
00:25:50
doesn't count against the bank in terms of their supervisory
00:25:56
treatment. So there's work going on to try to destigmatize the
00:26:01
discount window and make it part of the plan for contingent
00:26:05
funding that— that institutions have. And I think that's very
00:26:09
promising, and that may be as promising as any kind of reform
00:26:14
of the deposit insurance.
00:26:16
Hyun, did you want to add to that?
00:26:18
Yeah. Let— let me add, Itay, that, you know, as— as Loretta
00:26:22
laid out very well, I think we have to think about the deposit
00:26:25
insurance discussion within the broader context of liquidity
00:26:30
risk for the bank, and how you would manage that liquidity
00:26:33
risk. So you know, simply focusing on deposits would not
00:26:40
address, for example, some of the issues that banks faced
00:26:44
during the GFC. You know, when the problem was the wholesale
00:26:48
funding market. And the run, if you like, on some of those banks
00:26:53
were happening because some of the wholesale creditors were
00:26:56
shrinking their exposure, you know, for their own risk
00:27:00
management reasons. And so it's— you know, it's more prudent
00:27:03
behavior. It's more prudent lending on the parts of the— of the
00:27:07
party that's shrinking that funding, but it looks like a
00:27:10
run, if you're, you know, on the receiving end. So it has to be—
00:27:15
so the discussion about— about about deposit insurance should
00:27:18
be placed in this broader context of funding risk, you
00:27:24
know, for the— for the bank. And as Loretta laid out very well,
00:27:28
the— a crucial part of that is the role of a central bank as
00:27:34
the lender of last resort. And what it would take for the
00:27:40
collateral framework, or the— you know, the criteria and the
00:27:46
rule book for the emergency, you know, funding from the central
00:27:52
bank to be done without— you know, without the kind of, you
00:27:57
know, the— the stigma issues that Loretta mentioned.
00:28:03
Okay, so we're coming very close to the end here. I want to
00:28:08
finish by thinking about the future of the banking system,
00:28:14
and maybe give each one of you a minute to reflect on, are we
00:28:18
going towards a different kind of financial system, a different
00:28:23
kind of banking system? You know, one thing that we see is
00:28:26
more consolidation. As Loretta mentioned before, there was a
00:28:31
run from the small banks to the large banks. So maybe we will
00:28:35
have fewer and fewer smaller banks going forward. Something
00:28:39
else, of course that comes to mind is the digitization and the
00:28:43
fact that digital deposits are much easier to withdraw, and
00:28:49
maybe the liquidity that banks have is no longer adequate to
00:28:53
deal with that. So where are we going in terms of the future of
00:28:57
the banking system? I know this is very broad, but this is a
00:29:00
concluding question. And please, each one of you just take a
00:29:04
minute or so to reflect on that.
00:29:07
Yeah, Itay, maybe I can just
00:29:09
kick off with a very, you know, quick point
00:29:12
about the distinctive, you know, nature of banks. I mean, banks
00:29:19
are distinctive in that deposits are the main means of
00:29:21
payment. So, you know, we— we execute payments by, you know,
00:29:30
debiting the account of the sender and crediting the account
00:29:33
of the receiver, and it settles through the central bank's
00:29:35
balance sheet. So in that respect, you know, banks are not
00:29:39
only, you know, bringing in funding and lending, they're
00:29:42
also essential for the— for the monetary system to work. And
00:29:47
what we've been doing, actually, at the BIS, is to— to use some of the
00:29:51
technological innovations. In particular, we have a project
00:29:54
called Agora, which is about revamping correspondent banking
00:30:00
by using tokenization.
00:30:03
And tokenization is this idea that you can
00:30:06
have claims in transfer on a programmable platform.
00:30:10
And so you can really build in contingencies
00:30:13
and— and other features. And—
00:30:15
and I think if we look to the future,
00:30:19
my sense is that we will be speaking more and more
00:30:22
about the role of banks as the pillars of the monetary system,
00:30:26
you know, as well as intermediaries that lend.
00:30:30
Loretta?
00:30:31
Yeah. I— I don't disagree with that. I mean, but
00:30:34
I'd also point out that everyone— you know, we— we have these
00:30:37
problems every— periodically. They come up
00:30:40
in the industry, and there's always people who say
00:30:42
it's the end of the industry, and everything's going to become
00:30:45
non-bank. Well, the banking industry's been around forever.
00:30:48
And I think it will change, and I think the regulatory
00:30:53
supervisory structure will have to change, in order to
00:30:58
make sure that we have financial stability, which is crucial
00:31:01
for a healthy economy. And, you know, the distribution
00:31:04
of the size of banks is likely to change, because, you know,
00:31:08
technological changes, and— you know, some of my own
00:31:11
research shows that the— you know, an efficient
00:31:14
size of a bank is much larger now than it used to be. But
00:31:18
it mean that community banks won't
00:31:21
stay, and still do what they do best, which is lend
00:31:25
to their local community. So I think
00:31:27
it will change over time.
00:31:29
What I'm hoping is in the US, we get a little bit of a
00:31:32
simpler structure. Because it's very different from
00:31:35
in a lot of other countries. But I think the role,
00:31:38
the important role that banks have—
00:31:40
and as Hyun points out, they're— they're becoming
00:31:44
more and more important in terms of the payment system.
00:31:47
And of course, the Fed launched its instant payment system,
00:31:53
you know, over a year ago, and it
00:31:54
it's being built up now, in terms of more and more
00:31:58
firms becoming customers of FedNow.
00:32:02
I think that's sort of where things are going,
00:32:04
and technology can be very helpful
00:32:09
to more efficient, more safe, more sound banking.
00:32:14
But it also shows, in the speed of the runs
00:32:17
that occur, it also can lead to more challenges.
00:32:21
So I think we are in a very exciting time of change.
00:32:25
But fundamentally, if you think back to the stresses
00:32:28
of March 2023,
00:32:31
it wasn't a big esoteric thing that went on.
00:32:34
It was just basic poor risk management,
00:32:38
and weak supervision. And I think those are
00:32:42
things that we all have to take to heart,
00:32:44
whichever side you're on. If you're a bank, banker, or
00:32:49
a regulator-slash-supervisor,
00:32:51
in that we can do the basics better than we showed that
00:32:54
we were doing in March 2023.
00:32:57
Okay. A lot to think about.
00:33:00
Thank you very much, Loretta and Hyun,
00:33:03
for a very stimulating discussion.
00:33:06
And thank you for everyone who was listening.
00:33:12
Thank you, Itay.
00:33:14
Thank you very much. - Thank you.

Episode Highlights

  • The Future of Banking
    A discussion on the recent banking turmoil and lessons learned for future policies.
    “We are looking into a new era with some new lessons that have been learned.”
    @ 01m 51s
    November 11, 2024
  • Lessons from SVB's Collapse
    SVB's failure highlights poor risk management and weak supervision as key factors.
    “There were two key factors for SVB: poor interest rate risk management and weak supervision.”
    @ 06m 08s
    November 11, 2024
  • Monetary Policy and Banking Stability
    The Fed's interest rate decisions amidst banking stresses raise questions about future policy.
    “We were able to persevere and put another interest rate increase in.”
    @ 13m 10s
    November 11, 2024
  • Resilience of Banks
    Despite challenges, the banking industry has proven its longevity and adaptability.
    “The banking industry’s been around forever.”
    @ 30m 48s
    November 11, 2024
  • Future of Banking System
    Experts discuss the evolution of the banking system amidst technological changes and challenges.
    “We are in a very exciting time of change.”
    @ 32m 25s
    November 11, 2024
  • Need for Better Management
    A call for improved risk management and supervision in light of past failures.
    “We can do the basics better than we showed in March 2023.”
    @ 32m 51s
    November 11, 2024

Episode Quotes

  • We have not solved 'too big to fail.'.
    What Does the 2023 Banking Crisis Mean for the Future of Banking?
  • Don't let your monetary policy get out of position.
    What Does the 2023 Banking Crisis Mean for the Future of Banking?
  • The banking industry’s been around forever.
    What Does the 2023 Banking Crisis Mean for the Future of Banking?
  • We are in a very exciting time of change.
    What Does the 2023 Banking Crisis Mean for the Future of Banking?
  • We can do the basics better than we showed in March 2023.
    What Does the 2023 Banking Crisis Mean for the Future of Banking?

Key Moments

  • Introduction00:05
  • Banking Turmoil00:52
  • SVB's Poor Management06:08
  • Monetary Policy Lessons14:34
  • International Coordination15:10
  • Technological Change28:43
  • Exciting Times32:25
  • Risk Management32:31

Words per Minute Over Time

Vibes Breakdown

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