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Safety Transformation and the Structure of the Financial System

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  • WILLIAM DIAMOND

Abstract

This paper studies how a financial system that is organized to efficiently create safe assets responds to macroeconomic shocks. Financial intermediaries face a cost of bearing risk, so they choose the least risky portfolio that backs their issuance of riskless deposits: a diversified pool of nonfinancial firms' debt. Nonfinancial firms choose their capital structure to exploit the resulting segmentation between debt and equity markets. Increased safe asset demand yields larger and riskier intermediaries and more levered firms. Quantitative easing reduces the size and riskiness of intermediaries and can decrease firm leverage, despite reducing borrowing costs at the zero lower bound.

Suggested Citation

  • William Diamond, 2020. "Safety Transformation and the Structure of the Financial System," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 75(6), pages 2973-3012, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jfinan:v:75:y:2020:i:6:p:2973-3012
    DOI: 10.1111/jofi.12967
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    Cited by:

    1. van Binsbergen, Jules H. & Diamond, William F. & Grotteria, Marco, 2022. "Risk-free interest rates," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 143(1), pages 1-29.
    2. Hodula, Martin & Škrabić Perić, Blanka & Sorić, Petar, 2023. "Economic uncertainty and non-bank financial intermediation: Evidence from a European panel," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).
    3. Madalen Castells Jauregui & Dmitry Kuvshinov & Bjoern Richter & Victoria Vanasco, 2024. "Sectoral dynamics of safe assets in advanced economies," Economics Working Papers 1884, Department of Economics and Business, Universitat Pompeu Fabra.
    4. Segura, Anatoli & Villacorta, Alonso, 2023. "The paradox of safe asset creation," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 210(C).
    5. Vadim Elenev & Tim Landvoigt & Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh, 2021. "A Macroeconomic Model With Financially Constrained Producers and Intermediaries," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 89(3), pages 1361-1418, May.
    6. Sushant Acharya & Keshav Dogra & Sanjay R. Singh, 2021. "The financial origins of non-fundamental risk," Working Papers 345, University of California, Davis, Department of Economics.
    7. Jackson, Timothy & Pennacchi, George, 2021. "How should governments create liquidity?," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 281-295.
    8. Chase P. Ross, 2022. "The Collateral Premium and Levered Safe-Asset Production," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2022-046, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    9. Madalen Castells Jauregui & Dmitry Kuvshinov & Björn Richter & Victoria Vanasco, 2024. "Sectoral Dynamics of Safe Assets in Advanced Economies," Working Papers 1438, Barcelona School of Economics.
    10. Diamond, William & Landvoigt, Tim, 2022. "Credit cycles with market-based household leverage," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 146(2), pages 726-753.
    11. Diamond, William & Jiang, Zhengyang & Ma, Yiming, 2024. "The reserve supply channel of unconventional monetary policy," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).
    12. Hodula, Martin & Libich, Jan, 2023. "Has monetary policy fueled the rise in shadow banking?," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 123(C).

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