{"title":"Central banks’ corporate asset purchase programmes and risk-taking by bond funds in the aftermath of market stress","authors":"Nicola Branzoli , Raffaele Gallo , Antonio Ilari , Dario Portioli","doi":"10.1016/j.jfs.2024.101261","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>This paper provides evidence that central banks’ purchase programmes of corporate bonds in the aftermath of market stress foster risk-taking by bond funds. Using the COVID-19 shock as a laboratory, we show that funds more exposed to pandemic-related asset purchase programmes took on more credit and liquidity risks than less exposed ones during 2020, generating higher returns and attracting more inflows. More exposed funds increased their risk-taking buying assets not eligible for central banks’ interventions, particularly when they under-performed their peers or held less liquid assets. These results suggest that asset purchase programmes affected risk-taking by reducing liquidation costs and, thus, lowering the risk of run by fund investors. We discuss the implications for the transmission of policy interventions during periods of market stress and the regulation of the investment fund sector.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":48027,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Financial Stability","volume":"72 ","pages":"Article 101261"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1000,"publicationDate":"2024-04-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Financial Stability","FirstCategoryId":"96","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1572308924000469","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"BUSINESS, FINANCE","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
This paper provides evidence that central banks’ purchase programmes of corporate bonds in the aftermath of market stress foster risk-taking by bond funds. Using the COVID-19 shock as a laboratory, we show that funds more exposed to pandemic-related asset purchase programmes took on more credit and liquidity risks than less exposed ones during 2020, generating higher returns and attracting more inflows. More exposed funds increased their risk-taking buying assets not eligible for central banks’ interventions, particularly when they under-performed their peers or held less liquid assets. These results suggest that asset purchase programmes affected risk-taking by reducing liquidation costs and, thus, lowering the risk of run by fund investors. We discuss the implications for the transmission of policy interventions during periods of market stress and the regulation of the investment fund sector.
期刊介绍:
The Journal of Financial Stability provides an international forum for rigorous theoretical and empirical macro and micro economic and financial analysis of the causes, management, resolution and preventions of financial crises, including banking, securities market, payments and currency crises. The primary focus is on applied research that would be useful in affecting public policy with respect to financial stability. Thus, the Journal seeks to promote interaction among researchers, policy-makers and practitioners to identify potential risks to financial stability and develop means for preventing, mitigating or managing these risks both within and across countries.