Global Banks' Dollar Funding: A Source of Financial Vulnerability

Abstract

Leading up to the global financial crisis, US dollar activity by global banks headquartered outside the United States played a crucial role in transmitting shocks originating in funding markets. Although post-crisis regulation has improved banking systems' resilience, US dollar funding remains a global vulnerability, as evidenced by strains that reemerged in March 2020 in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis. We show that shocks to US dollar funding costs lead to financial stress in the home economies of these global non-US banks, and to spillovers to borrowers, especially emerging economies. US dollar funding vulnerability amplifies these negative effects, while some policy-related factors act as mitigators, such as swap line arrangements between central banks and international reserve holdings. Thus, these vulnerabilities should be monitored and, to the extent possible, controlled.

Keywords: External sector, Financial crises, Financial institutions, Macroprudential policies and financial stability, Financial systems, US dollar funding, financial stability risks, cross-currency basis, global banks, international liquidity, WP, home economy, VIX, financial stress, CCB, asset ratio

JEL Classification: E43, F31, G01, G15, G21, E01, E52, F16, E5