Shadow Bank Runs

29 Pages Posted: 9 Jun 2020

See all articles by David Andolfatto

David Andolfatto

Simon Fraser University (SFU) - Department of Economics; Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Ed Nosal

Federal Reserve Banks - Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: June, 2020

Abstract

Short-term debt is commonly used to fund illiquid assets. A conventional view asserts that such arrangements are run-prone in part because redemptions must be processed on a first-come, first-served basis. This sequential service protocol, however, appears absent in the wholesale banking sector---and yet, shadow banks appear vulnerable to runs. We explain how banking arrangements that fund fixed-cost operations using short-term debt can be run-prone even in the absence of sequential service. Interventions designed to eliminate run risk may or may not improve depositor welfare. We describe how optimal policies vary under different conditions and compare these to recent policy interventions by the Security and Exchange Commission and the Federal Reserve. We conclude that the conventional view concerning the societal benefits of liquidity transformation and its recommendations for prudential policy extend far beyond their application to depository institutions.

Keywords: Sequential service, fixed costs, bank runs, deposit insurance

JEL Classification: G01, G21, G28

Suggested Citation

Andolfatto, David and Nosal, Ed, Shadow Bank Runs (June, 2020). FRB St. Louis Working Paper No. 2020-012, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3622653 or http://dx.doi.org/10.20955/wp.2020.012

David Andolfatto (Contact Author)

Simon Fraser University (SFU) - Department of Economics ( email )

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis ( email )

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Ed Nosal

Federal Reserve Banks - Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta ( email )

1000 Peachtree Street N.E.
Atlanta, GA 30309-4470
United States

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