Il contestuale verificarsi di crisi bancarie e di crisi valutarie: il caso del Messico (1994) e quello dei Paesi del Sud Est asiatico (1997)

Simultaneous bank and exchange rate crises: the cases of Mexico (1994) and South-East Asian countries (1997) In recent years financial crises have been characterised by the simultaneous occurrence of exchange-rate and bank crises. This paper shows how, in a context of highly integrated international financial markets, an exchange rate crisis may be due, besides the causes highlighted in the traditional models, to a bank crisis as well. This seems to be the case of the South-East Asian countries and in particular of South Korea. Similarly, with a high international capital mobility, bank crises may happen, not only because of bad bank management, but also because of the withdrawal of bank deposits by foreigners who expect an exchange rate devaluation. This seems to have been the case of Mexico in 1994. In the context of the financial crisis analysed in this paper, the traditional instruments to avoid bank crises such as the deposit insurance, are less effective because they cannot avoid foreigners’ runs. There is a need, therefore, to integrate the existing tools to preserve the stability of the banking system, with others that lower the variability of foreigners’ deposits.