international economic ch21

Chapter 21 Chapter 21 The Global Capital Market:The Global Capital Market:

Performance and Policy ProblemsPerformance and Policy Problems

Prepared by Iordanis Petsas

To Accompany International Economics: Theory and PolicyInternational Economics: Theory and Policy, Sixth Edition

by Paul R. Krugman and Maurice Obstfeld

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Copyright © 2003 Pearson Education, Inc.

Introduction

The International Capital Market and the Gains from Trade

International Banking and the International Capital Market

Regulating International Banking

How Well Has the International Capital Market Performed?

Summary

Chapter Organization

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Introduction International capital market

• The group of closed interconnected markets in which residents of different countries trade assets such as currencies, stocks and bonds

• This chapter focus on three main questions:– How has the international capital market enhanced

countries’ gains from trade?– What caused the rapid growth in international financial

activity that has occurred since the early 1960s?– How can policymakers minimize problems raised by a

worldwide capital market without sharply reducing the benefits it provides?

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Three Types of Gain From Trade• All transactions between the residents of different

countries fall into one of three categories:– Trades of goods or services for goods or services– Trades of goods or services for assets– Trades of assets for assets

The International Capital Market and the Gains From Trade

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Figure 21-1: The Three Types of International Transaction

Goods

and

Services

Assets

Goods

and

Services

Assets

Home Foreign

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Risk Aversion• The risk associated with a trade of assets is shared when

assets are traded internationally.– When people are risk averse, countries can gain through

the exchange of risky assets.– International capital markets make these trades possible.


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Portfolio Diversification as a Motive for International Asset Trade• International portfolio diversification can allow

residents of all countries to reduce the variability of their wealth.

– International capital markets make this diversification possible.


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The Menu of International Assets: Debt Versus Equity• International portfolio diversification can be carried

out through the exchange of:– Debt instruments

– Bonds and bank deposits» They specify that the issuer of the instrument must repay a fixed

value regardless of economic circumstances.

– Equity instruments– A share of stock

» It is a claim to a firm’s profits, rather than to a fixed payment, and its payoff will vary according to circumstance.


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The Structure of the International Capital Market• The main actors in the international capital market are:

– Commercial banks

– Corporations– Nonbank financial institutions– Central banks and other government agencies

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Figure 21-2: Borrowing in the International Capital Market


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Growth of the International Capital Market• The removal of barriers to private capital flows across

countries’ borders has contributed to rapid growth in the international capital market.

• A policy “trilemma” refers to three available options:– Fixed exchange rate

– Monetary policy oriented toward domestic goals– Freedom of international capital movements


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Offshore Banking and Offshore Currency Trading• Offshore banking

– The business that banks’ foreign offices conduct outside of their home countries

– Banks operate offshore though any of three types of institution:

– Agency office– Subsidiary bank– Foreign branch

• Offshore currency trading– Trade in bank deposits denominated in currencies of

countries other than the one in which the bank is located– It is referred to as Eurocurrency trading.


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• Eurodollars– Dollar deposits located outside the U.S.

• Eurobanks– Banks that accept deposits denominated in

Eurocurrencies

• Eurocurrency trading has grown for three reasons:– Growth in world trade

– Evasion of financial regulations like reserve requirements

– Political concerns


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The Growth of Eurocurrency Trading• London is the leading center of Eurocurrency trading.• The early growth in the Eurodollar market was due to:

– Growing volume of international trade– Cold War– New U.S. restrictions on capital outflows and U.S.

banking regulations– Federal Reserve regulations on U.S. banks (e.g., the

Fed’s Regulation Q)– Move to floating exchange rates in 1973– Reluctance of Arab OPEC members to place surplus

funds in American banks after the first oil shock


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• International banking facilities (IBFs)– Banks that accept time deposits and make loans to

foreign customers.– They are not subject to reserve requirements or interest

rate ceilings.– They are exempt from state and local taxes.


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The Problem of Bank Failure• A bank fails when it is unable to meet its obligations to

its depositors.

• Governments attempt to prevent bank failures through extensive regulation of their domestic banking systems.

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• The main U.S. safeguards to reduce the risk of bank failure:

– Deposit insurance– Reserve requirements– Capital requirements and asset restrictions– Bank examination– Lender of last resort (LLR) facilities

– The Fed lends to banks facing massive deposit outflows to satisfy their depositors’ claims.


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Difficulties in Regulating International Banking• Deposit insurance is essentially absent in international

banking.

• The absence of reserve requirements reduces the stability of the banking system.

• Bank examination to enforce capital requirements and asset restrictions becomes more difficult in an international setting.

• There is uncertainty over which central bank is responsible for providing LLR assistance in international banking.


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International Regulatory Cooperation• Offshore banking is largely unprotected by the

safeguards national governments have imposed to prevent domestic bank failures.

• Basel Committee– It is a group of central bank heads from 11

industrialized countries.– It enhances regulatory cooperation in the international

area.– Its 1975 Concordat allocated national responsibility for

monitoring banking institutions and provided for information exchange.


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• A major change in international financial relations in the 1990s has been the rapidly growing importance of new emerging markets as sources and destinations for private capital flows.

• The trend toward securitization has increased the need for international cooperation in monitoring and regulating nonbank financial institutions.


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The Extent of International Portfolio Diversification• The international capital market has contributed to an

increase in international portfolio diversification since 1970.

• The extent of diversification appears small compared with what economic theory would predict.

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The Extent of Intertemporal Trade• Some observers claim that the extent of international

trade, as measured by countries’ current account balances, has been too small.

– These claims are hard to evaluate.

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Figure 21-3: Saving and Investment Rates for 25 Countries, 1990-1997 Averages


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Onshore-Offshore Interest Differentials• If the world capital market is functioning well,

international interest rates should move closely together and not differ too greatly.

– Large interest rate differences would be strong evidence of unrealized gains from trade.

– Data shows that rates of return on similar deposits issued in the major financial centers are quite close.


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Figure 21-4: Comparing Eurodollar and Onshore United States Interest Rates


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The Efficiency of the Foreign Exchange Market• Exchange rates provide important signals to those who

engage in international trade and investment.

• Studies Based on Interest Parity– The interest parity condition:

Rt – R*t = (Eet+1 – Et)/Et (21-1)

where:

Rt is the date-t interest rate on home currency deposits

R*t is the date-t interest rate on foreign currency deposits

Eet+1 is the expected exchange rate

Et is the exchange rate


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– The forecast error made in predicting future depreciation:

ut+1 = (Et+1 – Et)/Et - (Eet+1 – Et)/Et (21-2)

– Under interest parity, this hypothesis can be tested by writing ut+1 as actual currency depreciation less the international interest difference:

ut+1 = (Et+1 – Et)/Et - (Rt – R*t) (21-3)


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• The Role of Risk Premiums– If bonds denominated in different currencies are

imperfect substitutes for investors, the international interest rate difference equals expected currency depreciation plus a risk premium, ρt:

Rt – R*t = (Eet+1 – Et)/Et + ρt (21-4)

• Tests for Excessive Volatility– They yield a mixed verdict on the foreign exchange

performance.

• The Bottom Line– Evidence on foreign exchange market is ambiguous;

more research and experience are needed.


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Summary

When people are risk averse, countries can gain through the exchange of risky assets.

International portfolio diversification can be carried out though the exchange of debt instruments of equity instruments.

One important component in the international capital market is the foreign exchange market.• Banks are at the center of the international capital

market, and many operate offshore.

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Summary

Regulatory and political factors have encouraged offshore banking and currency trading.

Creation of a Eurocurrency deposit does not occur because that currency leaves its country of origin.• It poses no threat for central banks’ control over their

domestic monetary bases.

The Basel Committee has worked to enhance regulatory cooperation in the international area.• There is uncertainty about a central bank’s obligations

as an international lender of last resort.

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The international capital market has contributed to an increase in international portfolio diversification since 1970.

The foreign exchange market’s record in communicating appropriate price signals to international traders and investors is mixed.

Summary