Evaluation of the exchange fund account


Book Description

FFTW will also make recommendations regarding both the investment structure of the EFA and the practices surrounding the management of the EFA given our understanding of the need to limit risk within the reserve assets in an appropriate way for a country of Canada's standing in terms of the size of foreign exchange reserves and the likely role of, and use of, these reserves. [...] SCOPE OF THE PROJECT The project covers all aspects of the management of the asset side of the balance sheet and the EFA will be assessed in a portfolio context, as a portfolio of assets. [...] Within this evaluation, FFTW has taken into consideration the unique relationship between the Bank of Canada and the Department of Finance to the extent that it is relevant to the management of the assets in the EFA. [...] Given that most, but not all, countries separate the management of the assets and the management of the liabilities, the ALM approach adopted by the Bank of Canada and the Department of Finance lends itself to a combined approach, overseen and managed jointly by the two entities. [...] While the liabilities are not part of the evaluation, it should be noted that changes to the liability structure or to the method of hedging liabilities will likely impact the asset side of the balance sheet and hence the management of the EFA.




IEO Evaluation of Exchange Rate Policy


Book Description

The IMF is charged by its Articles of Agreement and a 1977 Executive Board Decision to exercise surveillance over the international monetary system and members’ exchange rate policies. The overriding question addressed by this evaluation is whether, over the 1999–2005 period, the IMF fulfilled this core responsibility. The main finding is that the IMF was simply not as effective as it needs to be in both its analysis and advice and in its dialogue with member countries. The evidence supporting this conclusion, along with other key findings, is set out in this report. The report also presents a detailed set of recommendations that could go a long way in improving the quality and effectiveness of IMF surveillance.




Foreign Exchange Intervention: A Dataset of Public Data and Proxies


Book Description

Foreign exchange intervention (FXI) is a highly debated topic. Yet, comprehensive and comparable data on FXI is hard to find. This paper provides a new dataset of FXI covering a large number of countries over the period 2000-20 at monthly and quarterly frequencies. It includes publicly available data for about 40 countries and carefully constructed proxies for 122 countries. Proxies are focused on both spot and derivative transactions that alter the central bank’s foreign currency position and account for a wide range of central bank operations, including vis-à-vis residents, the first proxy to do so to our knowledge. The paper discusses the merits of the new proxy relative to coarser measures traditionally used like the change in reserves, and potential definitional differences with published data. The paper also presents stylized facts using our newly constructed FXI proxies.




Flow-of-Funds Analysis


Book Description

This is a collection of articles on the flow of funds that attempts to serve as a reference guide to economists in academia, business, finance and government. Flow of funds analysis is widely used in analysis of financial institutions and markets. In fact, they were largely constructed by the Federal Reserve and other central banks and were the foundations for defining and measuring the various concepts of the monetary aggragates used as key targets by central banks in carrying out monetary policy. The book brings together the scattered articles on the subject and should be useful as a research guide and teaching source.







Guidelines for Foreign Exchange Reserve Management


Book Description

These guidelines are intended to assist countries in strengthening their policy frameworks for reserve management so that they can become more resilient to shocks that may originate from global financial markets or within the domestic financial system. The guidelines have been developed as part of a broader IMF work program to help strengthen international financial architecture, to promote policies and practices that contribute to stability and transparency in the financial sector, and to reduce external vulnerabilities of member countries.




Money and Exchange in Europe and America, 1600-1775


Book Description

Money and Exchange in Europe and America, 1600-1775: A Handbook




British Historical Statistics


Book Description

This 1988 reference book provides the major economic and social statistical series for the British Isles from the twelfth century up until 1980-81. The text provides informed access to a wide range of economic data, without the labour of identifying sources or of transforming many different annual sources into a comparable time series.




Revised Guidelines for Foreign Exchange Reserve Management


Book Description

The 2013 revision of the Guidelines was carried out by the IMF staff, supported by a small Working Group of central banks and monetary authorities from China, India, Israel, Italy, Mexico, Japan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, the European Central Bank, and the Bank for International Settlements, and The World Bank acting as reviewer in the process. Mr. Franco Passacantando, Managing Director at the Bank of Italy, chaired this Working Group. The revisions to the Guidelines mainly concentrate on: (i) reserve management objectives and strategy, including analyzing and managing risks in the context of reserve diversification; (ii) transparency and accountability, while avoiding reserve management decisions being dictated by the prevailing accounting framework; (iii) institutional and organizational framework issues, especially on avoiding possible inconsistencies between reserve management and other central bank operations; and (iv) the risk management framework, including taking into account ex-ante assessments of the impact of reserve investments on financial markets and building internal credit risk assessment systems to assess counterparty risks