Macroeconomics Commons^™

United States: Y2k Special Liquidity Facility, Natalie Leonard

Journal of Financial Crises

As the United States prepared for the century date change (Y2K) on January 1, 2000, uncertainty about computer functioning generated uncertainty in capital markets. The Federal Reserve (Fed) grew particularly concerned that computer malfunctioning would cause disruptions in the short-term federal funds and repurchase (repo) markets. Many market participants indicated early in 1999 that they would restrict their normal trading activities and curtail credit in the weeks leading up to Y2K, which contributed to the Fed’s anticipation that liquidity might dry up. To ease pressures, the Fed created two special facilities through the Open Market Trading Desk of the Federal …

United States: Y2k Standby Financing Facility, Natalie Leonard

Journal of Financial Crises

As the United States prepared for the century date change (Y2K) on January 1, 2000, uncertainty about computer functioning generated uncertainty in capital markets. The Federal Reserve (Fed) grew particularly concerned that computer malfunctioning would cause disruptions in the short-term federal funds and repurchase agreement (repo) markets. Many market participants indicated early in 1999 that they would restrict their normal trading activities in the weeks leading up to Y2K, which contributed to the Fed’s concern that liquidity might dry up. To ease pressures, the Fed created two special facilities through the Open Market Trading Desk of the Federal Reserve Bank …

United States: Term Auction Facility, Corey N. Runkel, Anshu Chen

Journal of Financial Crises

Following the announcement on August 9, 2007, by BNP Paribas that it was suspending redemptions for three of its open-end investment funds that had invested heavily in mortgage-backed securities, liquidity in the American interbank and short-term funding markets tightened considerably. On August 17, the Federal Reserve lowered the cost of borrowing from the discount window. However, usage remained low, due largely to the perception that such borrowing implied weak financials. In December, the Fed launched the Term Auction Facility (TAF), which used single-rate auctions to mitigate this stigma. The TAF offered discount-window credit of 28 days, and later, 84 days. …

United Kingdom: Bank Of England Lending During The Panic Of 1866, Sean Fulmer

Journal of Financial Crises

In 1866, the largest discount house in London, Overend-Gurney, teetered on the verge of insolvency as a result of extensive loan losses. It appealed to the Bank of England, then a privately held joint-stock bank with a monopoly over note issuance, but the Bank refused to help Overend-Gurney on the grounds that it was insolvent. When Overend-Gurney suspended payments, a massive bank run spread throughout London, with observers remarking that an “earthquake” had torn through the City. Panicked bankers flooded to the Bank of England’s discount window, where the Bank fulfilled any “legitimate request for assistance.” Fulfillment came in two …

Hong Kong: Temporary Liquidity Measures, 2008, Benjamin Hoffner

Journal of Financial Crises

In September 2008, Hong Kong’s interbank market tightened after the Bank of East Asia experienced a deposit run, prompting the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) to roll out five novel liquidity measures. The first three of these measures expanded the scope of HKMA’s discount window, offering term loans of up to three months, accepting additional collateral options, and lowering the rate charged. In the last two measures, the HKMA created one facility that allowed banks to request foreign exchange swaps and another that permitted the HKMA to extend collateralized term loans at market rates using its discretion. Although these measures …

Lessons Learned: William Nelson, Sandra Ward

Journal of Financial Crises

William Nelson was deputy director, Division of Monetary Affairs, at the Federal Reserve Board during the Global Financial Crisis of 2007–09 (GFC). As the nation’s central bank, chief financial regulator, and lender of last resort, the Federal Reserve Board took the lead in setting monetary policy and stabilizing the financial system during the crisis.

Nelson’s responsibilities at the Fed during the crisis included analysis of monetary policy and discount window policy as well as financial institution supervision, and he regularly briefed the board and the Federal Open Market Committee. He developed special expertise in designing liquidity facilities and was a …