Asset choice in British central banking history, the myth of the safe asset, and bank regulation

The paper describes the use of commercial bills in Bank of England open-market operations from the earliest days of central banking in the 19th century, when, it is suggested, the Bank of England’s main objective was what would now be called macro-prudential, until the 1980s, when commercial bill...

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Main Author: William A. Allen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: University of Warsaw 2015-06-01
Series:Journal of Banking and Financial Economics
Subjects:
Online Access:https://press.wz.uw.edu.pl/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1084&context=jbfe
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author William A. Allen
author_facet William A. Allen
author_sort William A. Allen
collection DOAJ
description The paper describes the use of commercial bills in Bank of England open-market operations from the earliest days of central banking in the 19th century, when, it is suggested, the Bank of England’s main objective was what would now be called macro-prudential, until the 1980s, when commercial bill purchases were an essential feature of contemporary anti-inflationary policy. It explores the relationship between government securities, central bank assets and bank liquidity regulation, exposes as a myth the belief that government securities are perfectly safe assets, and challenges the idea that central banks should confine their asset holdings to government securities. In addition, the paper argues that by making more active use of the policy instrument of central bank asset choice, by acknowledging the connection between liquidity regulation and open-market operations, and by making certain changes to the Basel 3 Liquidity Coverage Ratio regulations, central banks could both better achieve some of their macro-prudential policy objectives and stimulate high-quality bank lending.
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spelling doaj-art-fe9a532b88804444b27b621ba746f0d52025-01-02T23:18:00ZengUniversity of WarsawJournal of Banking and Financial Economics2353-68452015-06-0120152(4)183110.7172/2353-6845.jbfe.2015.2.2Asset choice in British central banking history, the myth of the safe asset, and bank regulationWilliam A. Allen0Cass Business School, London, United KingdomThe paper describes the use of commercial bills in Bank of England open-market operations from the earliest days of central banking in the 19th century, when, it is suggested, the Bank of England’s main objective was what would now be called macro-prudential, until the 1980s, when commercial bill purchases were an essential feature of contemporary anti-inflationary policy. It explores the relationship between government securities, central bank assets and bank liquidity regulation, exposes as a myth the belief that government securities are perfectly safe assets, and challenges the idea that central banks should confine their asset holdings to government securities. In addition, the paper argues that by making more active use of the policy instrument of central bank asset choice, by acknowledging the connection between liquidity regulation and open-market operations, and by making certain changes to the Basel 3 Liquidity Coverage Ratio regulations, central banks could both better achieve some of their macro-prudential policy objectives and stimulate high-quality bank lending.https://press.wz.uw.edu.pl/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1084&context=jbfecommercial billsbills of exchangebank of englandeligibilitybank liquiditybasel 3liquidity coverage ratiooverfundingmonetary targetsmacroprudential policyrisk‑free assetgovernment securities
spellingShingle William A. Allen
Asset choice in British central banking history, the myth of the safe asset, and bank regulation
Journal of Banking and Financial Economics
commercial bills
bills of exchange
bank of england
eligibility
bank liquidity
basel 3
liquidity coverage ratio
overfunding
monetary targets
macroprudential policy
risk‑free asset
government securities
title Asset choice in British central banking history, the myth of the safe asset, and bank regulation
title_full Asset choice in British central banking history, the myth of the safe asset, and bank regulation
title_fullStr Asset choice in British central banking history, the myth of the safe asset, and bank regulation
title_full_unstemmed Asset choice in British central banking history, the myth of the safe asset, and bank regulation
title_short Asset choice in British central banking history, the myth of the safe asset, and bank regulation
title_sort asset choice in british central banking history the myth of the safe asset and bank regulation
topic commercial bills
bills of exchange
bank of england
eligibility
bank liquidity
basel 3
liquidity coverage ratio
overfunding
monetary targets
macroprudential policy
risk‑free asset
government securities
url https://press.wz.uw.edu.pl/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1084&context=jbfe
work_keys_str_mv AT williamaallen assetchoiceinbritishcentralbankinghistorythemythofthesafeassetandbankregulation