Interest rate risk hits central banks
Rate risk
Fecha: mayo 2024
Ángel Berges and Salvador Jiménez
SEFO, Spanish and International Economic & Financial Outlook, V. 13 N.º3 (May 2024)
In the wake of the problems affecting several US banks, one year ago we assessed the issue of interest rate risk in the banking book and the effectiveness of the regulatory environment and applicable accounting rules in the prevention and mitigation of such risk. This type of interest rate risk, particularly the risk implicit in an excessive mismatch between asset and liability maturities and/or repricing, has now hit the central banks hard, with some reporting no profits, or even losses, in 2023. An analysis of the asset and liability structure of the Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Bank of Spain reveals that interest rate risks, and hence expected losses, are likely to continue to materialize across all three central banks in the coming years albeit along distinct timeframes and in different magnitudes – with the ECB and Bank of Spain expected to report smaller absolute values than the Fed. That said, it is important to note that, unlike private sector banks, central banks are not obliged to recognize their holdings at fair value (i.e. they do not have to recognized unrealized losses) or unwind positions, which means that market implications would be very different. As well, central banks should not be judged for their earnings performance, but rather whether they fulfil their mandates. In any event, there may be other implications related to the need for central banks to assess monetary policy rates from the perspective of how they relate to central bank transfers to the commercial banking system.