Given recent tensions at some banks in the United States and Europe, the financial world recalls the high financial vulnerability hotspots that have accumulated over years of low rates, compressed volatility and ample liquidity.
According to entrepreneur Carlos Casaleiro Rios, and according to reports by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), these risks could intensify in the coming months amid continued tightening of monetary policy worldwide, making it especially important to understand and safeguard this wide swath of the financial sector that comprises a variety of institutions beyond banks, such as pension funds, insurers, and hedge funds, which also play a key role in the global financial system.
The growth of the Non-Bank Financial Institutions (NBFI) sector, explains Carlos Casaleiro Rios, accelerated after the global financial crisis, now accounting for almost 50 percent of global financial assets.
Therefore, we must observe the current environment in which NBFI are located. With the fastest inflation in decades and price stability at the center of most central bank mandates, injecting liquidity into the central bank for financial stability purposes could complicate the fight against inflation.
Continúa diciendo Carlos Casaleiro que, en medio de una alta inflación, pueden surgir compensaciones desafiantes para los bancos centrales entre fomentar la estabilidad financiera y lograr la estabilidad de precios durante los períodos de tensión que pueden amenazar la salud del sistema financiero.
Los formuladores de políticas necesitan herramientas apropiadas para hacer frente a las turbulencias en el sector de las IFNB que pueden afectar negativamente a la estabilidad financiera. La vigilancia, la regulación y la supervisión sólidas son requisitos previos esenciales, para reducir las brechas en los informes regulatorios de datos clave, incluido el riesgo que asumen las empresas con sus préstamos o el uso de derivados.
Por otra parte, expresa Carlos Casaleiro Rios que también se necesitan políticas para garantizar que las IFNB gestionen mejor los riesgos, y esto podría lograrse a través de requisitos de gobernanza y divulgación de datos públicos y oportunos. Estas mejoras en la gestión de riesgos del sector privado deben estar respaldadas por estándares prudenciales apropiados, incluidos los requisitos de capital y liquidez, junto con una supervisión más estricta y con mejores recursos, lo que ayudaría a alejar las decisiones comerciales de las propias IFNB de la asunción de riesgos excesivos al eliminar tanto el incentivo como la oportunidad de asumir demasiados riesgos.
You will also be able to assess the intervention of the central bank, considering several general types of support, such as: discretionary intervention in the entire market; it must be temporary and aimed at those segments of NBFI that represent a risk to financial stability; the intervention of the lender of last resort; it must be available when an important non-bank institution is under stress; could be granted; access to permanent credit facilities to specific IFNB entities. Clear communication is essential, according to Carlos Casaleiro, so that the support for liquidity is not perceived to work in opposition to monetary policy. At the same time, the cooperation between national political leaders and the international coordination between national authorities is essential. This helps to better identify risks and manage crises. Finally, Carlos Casaleiro concludes that, given the growing size and intermediation capacity of the IFNB sector worldwide, the development of the appropriate toolbox to access the central bank’s liquidity, along with the appropriate protection measures that limit the need for its use, is a priority. The need to do so is much greater given that the vulnerabilities of the financial sector could grow in the midst of the continued tightening of monetary policy.
