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On the fundamental reasons for bank fragility

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Abstract

A substantial body of literature has now developed as a result of efforts to identify the fundamental reasons for the fragility of financial intermediaries in the Diamond-Dybvig theory of banking. Many of these articles focus on the interaction between sequential service and uncertainty about the aggregate need for liquidity in the economy. The articles in this literature are inevitably technical and focus somewhat narrowly on the implications of specific assumptions. Here, we provide a more accessible discussion of the main ideas and findings in this literature. Our discussion can be used as an introduction to the more technical articles or as an organizing framework for understanding the relative contribution of the main articles in this literature.

Suggested Citation

  • Huberto M. Ennis & Todd Keister, 2010. "On the fundamental reasons for bank fragility," Economic Quarterly, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, vol. 96(1Q), pages 33-58.
    • Handle: RePEc:fip:fedreq:y:2010:i:1q:p:33-58:n:v.96no.1
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    1. Green, Edward J. & Lin, Ping, 2003. "Implementing efficient allocations in a model of financial intermediation," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 109(1), pages 1-23, March.
    2. Andolfatto, David & Nosal, Ed, 2008. "Bank incentives, contract design and bank runs," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 142(1), pages 28-47, September.
    3. Huberto M. Ennis & Todd Keister, 2008. "Run equilibria in a model of financial intermediation," Staff Reports 312, Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
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    5. Peck, James & Shell, Karl, 2010. "Could making banks hold only liquid assets induce bank runs?," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(4), pages 420-427, May.
    6. Ennis, Huberto M. & Keister, Todd, 2006. "Bank runs and investment decisions revisited," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 53(2), pages 217-232, March.
    7. Ennis, Huberto M. & Keister, Todd, 2009. "Run equilibria in the Green-Lin model of financial intermediation," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 144(5), pages 1996-2020, September.
    8. Douglas W. Diamond & Philip H. Dybvig, 2000. "Bank runs, deposit insurance, and liquidity," Quarterly Review, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, vol. 24(Win), pages 14-23.
    9. James Peck & Karl Shell, 2003. "Equilibrium Bank Runs," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 111(1), pages 103-123, February.
    10. De Nicolo, Gianni, 1996. "Run-proof banking without suspension or deposit insurance," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 377-390, October.
    11. Bryant, John, 1980. "A model of reserves, bank runs, and deposit insurance," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 4(4), pages 335-344, December.
    12. Andolfatto, David & Nosal, Ed & Wallace, Neil, 2007. "The role of independence in the Green-Lin Diamond-Dybvig model," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 137(1), pages 709-715, November.
    13. Huberto M. Ennis & Todd Keister, 2009. "Bank Runs and Institutions: The Perils of Intervention," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 99(4), pages 1588-1607, September.
    14. Ennis, Huberto M. & Keister, Todd, 2010. "Banking panics and policy responses," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(4), pages 404-419, May.
    15. Neil Wallace, 1990. "A banking model in which partial suspension is best," Quarterly Review, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, vol. 14(Fall), pages 11-23.
    16. Cooper, Russell & Ross, Thomas W., 1998. "Bank runs: Liquidity costs and investment distortions," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(1), pages 27-38, February.
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    Cited by:

    1. Markus Kinateder & Hubert János Kiss & Ágnes Pintér, 2020. "Would depositors pay to show that they do not withdraw? Theory and experiment," Experimental Economics, Springer;Economic Science Association, vol. 23(3), pages 873-894, September.
    2. R. de O. Cavalcanti & P. K. Monteiro, 2016. "Enriching information to prevent bank runs," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 62(3), pages 477-494, August.
    3. Kinateder, Markus & Kiss, Hubert János, 2014. "Sequential decisions in the Diamond–Dybvig banking model," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 15(C), pages 149-160.
    4. Douglas D. Davis & Robert J. Reilly, 2016. "On Freezing Depositor Funds at Financially Distressed Banks: An Experimental Analysis," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 48(5), pages 989-1017, August.
    5. Kiss, Hubert J. & Rodriguez-Lara, Ismael & Rosa-Garcia, Alfonso, 2018. "Panic bank runs," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 162(C), pages 146-149.
    6. Renee Courtois Haltom & Jeffrey M. Lacker, 2015. "Should the Fed Have a Financial Stability Mandate? Lessons from the Fed's First 100 Years," Economic Quarterly, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, issue 1Q, pages 49-75.
    7. Chao He & Randall Wright, 2019. "On Complicated Dynamics in Simple Monetary Models," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 51(6), pages 1433-1453, September.
    8. Lazopoulos, Ioannis, 2013. "Liquidity uncertainty and intermediation," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(2), pages 403-414.
    9. Markus Kinateder & Hubert Janos Kiss & Agnes Pinter, 2015. "Would depositors like to show others that they do not withdraw? Theory and Experiment," KRTK-KTI WORKING PAPERS 1553, Institute of Economics, Centre for Economic and Regional Studies.
    10. Borys Grochulski, 2013. "Pecuniary Externalities, Segregated Exchanges, and Market Liquidity in a Diamond-Dybvig Economy with Retrade," Economic Quarterly, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, issue 4Q, pages 305-340.
    11. Kiss, Hubert J. & Rodriguez-Lara, Ismael & Rosa-Garcia, Alfonso, 2022. "Preventing (panic) bank runs," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 35(C).
    12. Hubert Janos Kiss & Ismael Rodriguez-Lara & Alfonso Rosa-Garcia, 2018. "Who runs first to the bank?," KRTK-KTI WORKING PAPERS 1826, Institute of Economics, Centre for Economic and Regional Studies.
    13. Nicola Cetorelli & Benjamin H. Mandel & Lindsay Mollineaux, 2012. "The evolution of banks and financial intermediation: framing the analysis," Economic Policy Review, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, vol. 18(Jul), pages 1-12.
    14. Huang, Xuesong, 2024. "Sophisticated banking contracts and fragility when withdrawal information is public," Theoretical Economics, Econometric Society, vol. 19(1), January.
    15. Kiss, Hubert János & Rodriguez-Lara, Ismael & Rosa-Garcia, Alfonso, 2022. "Who withdraws first? Line formation during bank runs," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    16. Diemo Dietrich & Uwe Vollmer, 2024. "Investment externalities, bank liquidity creation, and bank failures," Journal of Economics, Springer, vol. 141(2), pages 137-162, March.
    17. Peia, Oana & Vranceanu, Radu, 2019. "Experimental evidence on bank runs with uncertain deposit coverage," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 214-226.
    18. Gu, Chao & Monnet, Cyril & Nosal, Ed & Wright, Randall, 2023. "Diamond–Dybvig and beyond: On the instability of banking," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).

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