BIS Quarterly Review, March 2015

Largely unexpected, a wave of monetary policy easing over the past few months has taken centre stage in global financial markets. Amid plunging oil prices and rising foreign exchange tensions, a large number of central banks from both advanced and emerging market economies have provided further stimulus. The ECB announced an expanded asset purchase programme, which was larger and ... More...

Global international banking activity continued to expand during the third quarter of 2014, after turning upwards in the first. International bank lending in the advanced economies revived as the growth outlook in some of these economies picked up and banking systems continued to recover. Bank lending to emerging market economies remained strong, particularly in Asia. More...

Concerns about deflation - falling prices of goods and services - are rooted in the view that it is very costly. We test the historical link between output growth and deflation in a sample covering 140 years for up to 38 economies. The evidence suggests that this link is weak and ...

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The total debt of the oil and gas sector globally stands at roughly $2.5 trillion, two and a half times what it was at the end of 2006. The recent fall in the oil price represents a significant decline in the value of assets backing this debt, introducing a new ...

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In spite of very easy financing conditions globally, investment has been rather weak in the aftermath of the Great Recession. What explains this apparent disconnect? The evidence suggests that, historically, uncertainty about the ...

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Financial inclusion - access to financial services - is increasing worldwide, often with official support. This special feature discusses the implications for central banks. Greater financial inclusion changes the behaviour of firms and consumers in ways that could ...

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Drawing from a recent report by the Committee on the Global Financial System, we identify signs of increased fragility and divergence of liquidity conditions across different fixed income markets. Market-making is concentrating in the most liquid securities and ...

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