Liquidity Management: A Funding Risk Handbook

Introductory Note

This book was first conceived of and begun two years ago, at the peak of what it is now commonly referred to as the Greek financial crisis. As many well remember, it was the nadir of the financial crisis, triggered by the chain of problems from Ireland, Portugal and then Greece, resulting in state rating downgrades and endless discussions in Brussels and Frankfurt about the way to solve the apparently unresolvable liquidity troubles. All this while the Lehman crisis was barely one year old. Then the contagion fear that affected the Republic of Italy, one the largest sovereign debt issuers in the world, spread and the troubles quickly also reached Spain, with the Bankia and Spanish banking sectors in dire straits and receiving European financial help. Many governments fell, dragged down by extremely high refinancing costs, unemployment rates and falling growth rates.

Things have changed since. Mario Draghi's appointment at the helm of the European Central Bank and the pledge to assure unlimited support by the ECB on CEE Euro state members in August 2012 have been turning points in the delicate and complex liquidity transmission mechanism. Though liquidity market normalization is still distant, significant steps forward in recent months, including ECB Long Term Repurchasing Operations, have ensured liquidity to banks and cooled concerns. At least for the time being.

Despite the exceptional environment and events, this book is not a descriptive chronicle of crises ...