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Interbank Connections, Contagion and Bank Distress in the Great Depression

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Abstract

Liquidity shocks transmitted through interbank connections contributed to bank distress during the Great Depression. New data on interbank connections reveal that banks were much more likely to close when their correspondents closed. Further, after the Federal Reserve was established, banks? management of cash and capital buffers was less responsive to network risk, suggesting that banks expected the Fed to reduce network risk. Because the Fed?s presence removed the incentives for the most systemically important banks to maintain capital and cash buffers that had protected against liquidity risk, it likely contributed to the banking system?s vulnerability to contagion during the Depression.

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  • Charles W. Calomiris & Matthew Jaremski & David C. Wheelock, 2019. "Interbank Connections, Contagion and Bank Distress in the Great Depression," Working Papers 2019-001, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
    • Handle: RePEc:fip:fedlwp:2019-001
    DOI: 10.20955/wp.2019.001
    Note: Publisher DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfi.2020.100899
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    2. Haelim Anderson & Guillermo Ordonez & Selman Erol, 2019. "Interbank Networks in the Shadows of the Federal Reserve Act," 2019 Meeting Papers 1285, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    3. Landaberry, Victoria & Caccioli, Fabio & Rodriguez-Martinez, Anahi & Baron, Andrea & Martinez-Jaramillo, Serafin & Lluberas, Rodrigo, 2021. "The contribution of the intra-firm exposures network to systemic risk," Latin American Journal of Central Banking (previously Monetaria), Elsevier, vol. 2(2).
    4. Jenter, Dirk & Aldunate, Felipe & Korteweg, Arthur & Koudijs, Peter, 2021. "Shareholder Liability and Bank Failure," CEPR Discussion Papers 16309, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    5. Chotipong Charoensom & Thaisiri Watewai, 2022. "Optimal Liquidity Control and Systemic Risk in an Interbank Network with Liquidity Shocks and Regime-dependent Interconnectedness," PIER Discussion Papers 175, Puey Ungphakorn Institute for Economic Research.
    6. Barón, Andrea & Landaberry, María Victoria & Lluberas, Rodrigo & Ponce, Jorge, 2021. "Commercial and banking credit network in Uruguay," Latin American Journal of Central Banking (previously Monetaria), Elsevier, vol. 2(3).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Bank Contagion; Great Depression; Interbank Networks; Liquidity Risk; Federal Reserve System;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages
    • L14 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Transactional Relationships; Contracts and Reputation
    • N22 - Economic History - - Financial Markets and Institutions - - - U.S.; Canada: 1913-

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