International

Decomposing systemic risk: the roles of contagion and common exposures

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, April 23, 2024
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Abstract

Key Points: 
    • Abstract
      We evaluate the effects of contagion and common exposure on banks? capital through
      a regression design inspired by the structural VAR literature and derived from the balance
      sheet identity.
    • Contagion can occur through direct exposures, fire sales, and market-based
      sentiment, while common exposures result from portfolio overlaps.
    • First, we document that contagion varies in time, with the highest levels
      around the Great Financial Crisis and lowest levels during the pandemic.
    • Our new framework complements
      traditional stress-tests focused on single institutions by providing a holistic view of systemic risk.
    • While existing literature presents various contagion narratives, empirical findings on
      distress propagation - a precursor to defaults - remain scarce.
    • We decompose systemic risk into three elements: contagion, common exposures, and idiosyncratic risk, all derived from banks? balance sheet identities.
    • The contagion factor encompasses both sentiment- and contractual-based elements, common exposures consider systemic
      aspects, while idiosyncratic risk encapsulates unique bank-specific risk sources.
    • Our empirical analysis of the Canadian banking system reveals the dynamic nature of contagion, with elevated levels observed during the Global Financial Crisis.
    • In conclusion, our model offers a comprehensive lens for policy intervention analysis and
      scenario evaluations on contagion and systemic risk in banking.
    • This
      notion of systemic risk implies two key components: first, systematic risks (e.g., risks related
      to common exposures) and second, contagion (i.e., an initially idiosyncratic problem becoming
      more widespread throughout the financial system) (see Caruana, 2010).
    • In this paper, we decompose systemic risk into three components: contagion, common exposures, and idiosyncratic risk.
    • First, we include contagion in three forms: sentiment-based contagion, contractual-based
      contagion, and price-mediated contagion.
    • In this context,
      portfolio overlaps create common exposures, implying that bigger overlaps make systematic
      shocks more systemic.
    • With the COVID-19 pandemic starting
      in 2020, contagion drops to all time lows, potentially related to strong fiscal and monetary
      supports.
    • That is, our
      structural model provides a framework for analyzing the impact of policy interventions and
      scenarios on different levels of contagion and systemic risk in the banking system.
    • This provides a complementary approach to
      seminal papers that took a structural approach to contagion, such as DebtRank Battiston et al.
    • More generally, the literature on networks and systemic risk started with Allen and Gale
      (2001) and Eisenberg and Noe (2001).
    • The matrix is structured as follows:
      1

      In our model, we do not distinguish between interbank liabilities and other types of liabilities.

    • In other words, we can and aim to estimate different degrees
      of contagion per asset class, i.e., potentially distinct parameters ?Ga .
    • For that, we build three major
      metrics to check: average contagion, average common exposure, and average idiosyncratic risk.
    • N i j

      et ,
      Further, we define the (N ?K) common exposure matrix as Commt = [A

      (20)

      et ]diag (?C
      ?L

      such that average common exposure reads,
      average common exposure =

      1 XX
      Commik,t .

    • N i j

      (22)

      20

      ? c ),

      The three metrics?average contagion, average common exposure, and average idiosyncratic risk?provide a comprehensive framework for understanding banking dynamics.

    • Figure 4 depicts the average level of risks per systemic risk channel: contagion risk, common exposure, and idiosyncratic risk.
    • Figure 4: Average levels of contagion (Equation (20)), common exposure (Equation (21)), and idiosyncratic risk
      (Equation (22)).
    • The market-based contagion is the contagion due to
      investors? sentiment, and the network is an estimate FEVD on volatility data.
    • For most of
      the sample, we find that contagion had a bigger impact on the variance than common exposures.

The UK is poorer without Erasmus – it’s time to rejoin the European exchange programme

Retrieved on: 
Friday, April 19, 2024

The United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the Erasmus+ scheme – a reciprocal exchange process that let UK students study at European universities, and European students come to the UK – is again under the spotlight.

Key Points: 
  • The United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the Erasmus+ scheme – a reciprocal exchange process that let UK students study at European universities, and European students come to the UK – is again under the spotlight.
  • The scope of the Turing scheme is more narrow, as it focuses on outbound mobility from the UK rather than reciprocal exchanges.
  • Participating in international exchange programmes offers a plethora of benefits, ranging from personal growth to academic enrichment and professional development.
  • I can attest to its profound role in shaping well-rounded individuals equipped with the skills to thrive in today’s interconnected world.

Benefits on both sides

  • There are many benefits enjoyed by students participating in international exchange programmes.
  • But welcoming international exchange students to UK campuses also offers huge advantages to universities and broader society.
  • International exchange students bring with them unique perspectives, skills and experiences that enrich the learning environment for everyone.
  • Language learning and international mobility go hand in hand in fostering essential qualities such as curiosity, empathy and effective communication.

Halting decline

  • The ongoing decline in language learning in the UK is concerning.
  • Academics and teachers are trying to address this and have been creating initiatives to re-think how we approach language teaching.
  • To truly ensure equitable access to language learning, further investment is needed, coupled with a renewed commitment to international mobility.


Sascha Stollhans is affiliated with the Linguistics in Modern Foreign Languages project. The related research mentioned in the article was funded by Language Acts and Worldmaking, part of the Arts and Humanities Research Council's Open World Research Initiative, an Impact Accelerator Grant from the University of Bristol and a Research Start-up Grant from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Newcastle University.

AI chatbots refuse to produce ‘controversial’ output − why that’s a free speech problem

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, April 18, 2024

Still, the conversation on AI ignores another crucial issue: What is the AI industry’s approach to free speech, and does it embrace international free speech standards?

Key Points: 
  • Still, the conversation on AI ignores another crucial issue: What is the AI industry’s approach to free speech, and does it embrace international free speech standards?
  • In practice, this means that AI chatbots often censor output when dealing with issues the companies deem controversial.
  • Without a solid culture of free speech, the companies producing generative AI tools are likely to continue to face backlash in these increasingly polarized times.

Vague and broad use policies

  • Companies issue policies to set the rules for how people can use their models.
  • With international human rights law as a benchmark, we found that companies’ misinformation and hate speech policies are too vague and expansive.
  • Our analysis found that companies’ hate speech policies contain extremely broad prohibitions.
  • To show how vague and broad use policies can affect users, we tested a range of prompts on controversial topics.
  • More recently, India confronted Google after Gemini noted that some experts consider the policies of the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, to be fascist.

Free speech culture

  • If they serve a global audience, they may want to avoid content that is offensive in any region.
  • This means society has an interest in ensuring such policies adequately protect free speech.
  • Even where a similar legal obligation does not apply to AI providers, we believe that the companies’ influence should require them to adopt a free speech culture.
  • At least two of the companies we focused on – Google and Anthropic – have recognized as much.

Outright refusals

  • Therefore, users’ exposure to hate speech and misinformation from generative AI will typically be limited unless they specifically seek it.
  • This is unlike social media, where people have much less control over their own feeds.
  • Stricter controls, including on AI-generated content, may be justified at the level of social media since they distribute content publicly.
  • Refusals to generate content not only affect fundamental rights to free speech and access to information.
  • The Future of Free Speech is a non-partisan, independent think tank that has received limited financial support from Google for specific projects.
  • In all cases, The Future of Free Speech retains full independence and final authority for its work, including research pursuits, methodology, analysis, conclusions, and presentation.
  • The Future of Free Speech is a non-partisan, independent think tank that has received limited financial support from Google for specific projects.

Is home bias biased? New evidence from the investment fund sector

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, April 18, 2024
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Key Points: 

    How have China and Russia beefed up their relationship after Ukraine war wobble? Expert Q&A

    Retrieved on: 
    Wednesday, April 10, 2024

    China has agreed to strengthen its relationship with Russia, after a meeting between Russia foreign minister Sergey Lavrov and China’s foreign minister Wang Yi.

    Key Points: 
    • China has agreed to strengthen its relationship with Russia, after a meeting between Russia foreign minister Sergey Lavrov and China’s foreign minister Wang Yi.
    • They both used the occasion to criticise the west’s “cold war thinking” and accuse it of bullying.
    • International affairs editor Rachael Jolley asked Natasha Kuhrt, an expert on the Russia-China relationship from King’s College London, to explain why the conversation was important.
    • According to Lavrov, the two were also due to discuss security issues including terrorism in the Eurasian region (the landmass stretching from China to Europe).
    • In the context of US power and a rising China, Russia fears a decline in its status.
    • In the Indo-Pacific, Russia seems to be increasingly willing to assist China in its efforts to intimidate US allies.
    • At the 2022 Madrid summit Nato belatedly acknowledged the importance of the Russia-China relationship, and the worst-case scenario of a two-front war.


    Natasha Kuhrt does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    Most countries do not take a fair share of refugees – here’s how we could incentivise them

    Retrieved on: 
    Wednesday, April 10, 2024

    More than 70 years later, the world is more connected and the nature of migration and asylum has changed.

    Key Points: 
    • More than 70 years later, the world is more connected and the nature of migration and asylum has changed.
    • UK home secretary James Cleverly (as well as his predecessor Suella Braverman) has suggested that such migration treaties are no longer fit for purpose.
    • Cleverly did not mention that this proportion has been surprisingly stable over the past 60 years.
    • Today, 70% of refugees are hosted in countries neighbouring where the people flee from.
    • While a few countries take most of the responsibility for refugees, many others shun cooperation.

    Political challenges

    • Scholars have long explored the possibility of a legally binding mechanism to ensure that refugee protection is responsibly shared.
    • But such a system seems impossible in the current political climate.
    • The US, Australia and Italy all failed to endorse recent, non-binding, international agreements on responsibility-sharing for migration and refugee protection.
    • Despite this political difficulty, there could be ways to incentivise states to take more responsibility, without a legally binding system.

    From safety to integration

    • More work needs to be done in host countries to help refugees integrate and avoid marginalisation and discrimination.
    • This could be through cultural exchanges between citizens and refugees, such as sport, cooking or language classes.


    Matilde Rosina does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    EQS-News: Lenzing presents innovative concept combining sustainable glacier protection and circularity for textiles

    Retrieved on: 
    Wednesday, April 10, 2024

    Lenzing – The Lenzing Group, a leading supplier of regenerated cellulose for the textile and nonwovens industries, has created a unique, innovative concept that contributes to the sustainable protection of our glaciers while inspiring collective action for sustainable practices and a circular economy in the nonwovens and textile value chain.

    Key Points: 
    • Lenzing – The Lenzing Group, a leading supplier of regenerated cellulose for the textile and nonwovens industries, has created a unique, innovative concept that contributes to the sustainable protection of our glaciers while inspiring collective action for sustainable practices and a circular economy in the nonwovens and textile value chain.
    • [2]
      The covering of a small area with the new material made from LENZING™ fibers was tested for the first time during a field test on the Stubai Glacier.
    • This was confirmed in a study conducted by the University of Innsbruck and the Austrian glacier lift operators on the Stubai Glacier in Tyrol (Austria).
    • Lenzing takes this pioneering innovation project as an opportunity to inspire collaborative action towards sustainable practices and circularity in the textile value chain.

    EQS-News: Strong start of the year for Redcare Pharmacy, double-digit sales growth continues.

    Retrieved on: 
    Wednesday, April 10, 2024

    Strong start of the year for Redcare Pharmacy, double-digit sales growth continues.

    Key Points: 
    • Strong start of the year for Redcare Pharmacy, double-digit sales growth continues.
    • Redcare Pharmacy’s CEO, Olaf Heinrich comments: “We started the year very well, with strong sales growth accompanied by persistently high non-financial KPIs.
    • Non-Rx sales growth was 16.8% to EUR 297 million (Q1 2023: EUR 254 million), while prescription medication sales (Rx) rose by 348.3% to EUR 156 million.
    • Excluding MediService, Rx sales growth in DACH was 6.8% to EUR 37 million (Q1 2023: EUR 35 million).

    EQS-News: CANCOM SE: CANCOM publishes Annual Report 2023 and forecasts significant growth

    Retrieved on: 
    Wednesday, April 10, 2024

    Munich, Germany, 28 March 2024 – In the 2023 financial year, Group revenue increased by 17.8 percent to € 1,522.7 million.

    Key Points: 
    • Munich, Germany, 28 March 2024 – In the 2023 financial year, Group revenue increased by 17.8 percent to € 1,522.7 million.
    • The CANCOM Group also achieved a significant increase in gross profit of 33.0 percent to € 582.3 million (prior year: € 437.9 million).
    • "Thanks to our successful acquisition strategy, we closed the 2023 financial year with significant growth," summarises Rüdiger Rath, CEO of CANCOM SE.
    • The first joint annual financial statements published with the annual report are another important milestone in the integration of the two companies.

    Polymetal International plc: New management appointments in Kazakhstan

    Retrieved on: 
    Wednesday, April 10, 2024

    Polymetal International plc (“Polymetal”, the “Group”) announces significant strengthening of the management team.

    Key Points: 
    • Polymetal International plc (“Polymetal”, the “Group”) announces significant strengthening of the management team.
    • “The natural first step after the sale of the Russian business is the creation of strong, focused, and motivated management team in our corporate headquarters in Astana.
    • With the appointment of four new Executive Vice Presidents, Polymetal is now in a position to advance its independent strategy in Central Asia”, said Vitaly Nesis, Group CEO of Polymetal International plc.
    • Valery joined Polymetal Engineering in 2006 and moved to Kyzyl in 2016.