Manmohan Singh

Expanding reverse repo programme would rust financial plumbing...

Central bank asset purchases absorb ‘good’ collateral like Treasury bonds...

Collateral management in monetising assets has never been more important, policy makers recognising this fact have started to pay increased attention to the complex collateral plumbing that is fundamental to lending and enabling growth in the economy.



Collateral and Financial Plumbing Reviews
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"Manmohan Singh is widely acknowledged as the global thought leader on collateral and financial market infrastructure. This book is an extremely useful guide to this crucial area… Show more

Collateral management in monetising assets has never been more important, policy makers recognising this fact have started to pay increased attention to the complex collateral plumbing that is fundamental to lending and enabling growth in the economy.



Collateral and Financial Plumbing Reviews
.

"Manmohan Singh is widely acknowledged as the global thought leader on collateral and financial market infrastructure. This book is an extremely useful guide to this crucial area of financial market design and policy."​

Darrell Duffie, Graduate School of Business, Stanford University

“Manmohan’s thought-provoking work shines a much-needed light on the neglected, yet highly critical, plumbing of the financial system.”

Guy Debelle, Assistant Governor (Financial Markets), Reserve Bank of Australia and Chair of the BIS Markets Committee

"This book provides an authoritative and important reminder that 'collateral'​ is the oil in the engine of global financial markets. It describes how collateral has morphed over time, its importance for the plumbing of the financial sector and its current monetary policy nexus. Manmohan Singh covers all the bases that the market, its infrastructure, central bankers, legislators and regulators should focus on. The chapter on 'shadow banking'​ in particular is the first comprehensive perspective on its important intermediation role for the financial sector. He has expertly peered into the future to consider the possible consequences of collateral paucity or the failure of a CCP – too important to fail, too big to save? This book weaves a rich and unique tapestry of a complex subject in an accessible manner."

Patrick Pearson, Acting Director of Financial Markets, European Commission Show less

The risks associated with shadow banking are at the forefront of the regulatory debate. Yet, this column argues that there is as yet no established analytical approach to shadow banking. This means that policy priorities are not clearly motivated. But if we analyse securitisation and collateral intermediation – the two shadow banking functions most important for financial stability – a solid framework that includes existing policy recommendations, as well as some alternative ones, begins to… Show more

The risks associated with shadow banking are at the forefront of the regulatory debate. Yet, this column argues that there is as yet no established analytical approach to shadow banking. This means that policy priorities are not clearly motivated. But if we analyse securitisation and collateral intermediation – the two shadow banking functions most important for financial stability – a solid framework that includes existing policy recommendations, as well as some alternative ones, begins to emerge. Show less

...the financial system? I ask, in the light of work done by Manmohan Singh, a senior economist at the International Monetary Fund...securities lending. At the level of the overall system, the IMF has identified up to 14 large banks active in global collateral...if it were significantly lower than today’s level. The IMF has nonetheless shone an important light on an opaque part... By John Plender

...with is a sleight of hand that instead of resolving the “too-big-to-fail” problem deflects it back to taxpayers. Manmohan Singh is a senior economist at the International Monetary Fund. Views expressed are personal and not of the IMF By Manmohan Singh

The world of credit creation has shifted over recent years. This column argues this shift is more profound than is commonly understood. It describes the private credit creation process, explains how the ‘money multiplier’ depends upon inter-bank trust, and discusses the implications for monetary policy

...unleash significant unintended consequences. Manmohan Singh is a senior economist at the IMF. This piece was co-authored by Peter Stella...Central Banking, Monetary and FX Divisions at the IMF. Views expressed are personal and not of the IMFBy Manmohan Singh

Much of the debate over public finances in the US relates to the amount of debt, this column explores the type of debt. It criticises the recent suggestion that the US Treasury should start issuing floating rate notes.

Are central banks printing vast quantities of money? This column explains how money-multiplier economics (central banks create reserves that allow commercial banks to create money) no longer holds.

... A recent IMF paper estimated that a decline in the amount of “pledged collateral”, the sort that can be reused in other transactions, has reduced the overall availability of collateral by $4 trillion-5 trillion since pre-Lehman days

Regulators around the world are looking to regulate derivatives. This column argues, however, that current proposals for centralised counterparties are misguided.

An interview is presented with Manmohan Singh, the senior economist at the International Monetary Fund. Topics include rehypothecation, shadow banking, and the shortage of collateral at European banks. Also considered is how banking regulators should focus on the sizeable volumes of bank funding coming from non-bank asset managers and should consider changing the leverage definitions of banks.

IMF senior economist Manmohan Singh says the shadow-banking system is a necessary part of the… Show more

An interview is presented with Manmohan Singh, the senior economist at the International Monetary Fund. Topics include rehypothecation, shadow banking, and the shortage of collateral at European banks. Also considered is how banking regulators should focus on the sizeable volumes of bank funding coming from non-bank asset managers and should consider changing the leverage definitions of banks.

IMF senior economist Manmohan Singh says the shadow-banking system is a necessary part of the monetary universe, and therefore something that regulators and policymakers must thoroughly understand if they are to have any success in improving economic performance. Show less

FT
December 4, 2012
Regulators wrestle with swaps reform risk
...you have, the less scope there is for netting, the more collateral is needed and the more expensive it becomes,” says Manmohan Singh, market infrastructure expert at the International Monetary Fund. There are more than 20 clearing houses in Europe...be like a nuclear power station blowing up. This is something mankind should be able to contain,” says Mr Singh at the IMF. “At the end of the day central banks would be able… Show more

FT
December 4, 2012
Regulators wrestle with swaps reform risk
...you have, the less scope there is for netting, the more collateral is needed and the more expensive it becomes,” says Manmohan Singh, market infrastructure expert at the International Monetary Fund. There are more than 20 clearing houses in Europe...be like a nuclear power station blowing up. This is something mankind should be able to contain,” says Mr Singh at the IMF. “At the end of the day central banks would be able to do something. So taxpayers remain on the hook.” Peter Norman... By Ralph Atkins and Philip Stafford in London

FT
October 24, 2012
Regulation: Collateral damage
...Corporation, a US provider of back-office trading services. Manmohan Singh, a collateral expert at the IMF, says: “Demand has increased – and supply contracted...financial system is not about to not run out of collateral. The IMF estimates that there are potentially about $75tn worth of marketable... By Ralph Atkins, Philip Stafford and Brooke Masters

FT
July 24, 2012
Show some real audacity at the Fed
...is the worst thing for confidence, and indefinite purchases of Treasuries threaten to upset the way markets work. As the IMF’s Manmohan Singh argues, the Fed’s appetite for safe assets is draining the financial system of an essential lubricant. Traders... By Sebastian Mallaby


FT Alphaville
June 29, 2012
On the transfer of risk and the mystery of low yields
...is compromised. Wealth is temporarily destroyed. Risk is transferred into safe assets. This has been well explained by Manmohan Singh and Peter Stella in an IMF working paper. If governments or central banks intervene to take the risky assets out of the market (risky assets which... Izabella Kaminska Show less

FT
June 27, 2012
Beware effects of weakening collateral chains
...unleash significant unintended consequences. Manmohan Singh is a senior economist at the IMF. This piece was co-authored by Peter Stella...Central Banking, Monetary and FX Divisions at the IMF. Views expressed are personal and not of the IMFBy Manmohan Singh

FT
May 20, 2012
Derivatives rules will bring new demands
...unintended consequence may have systemic implications, as well as implications for… Show more

FT
June 27, 2012
Beware effects of weakening collateral chains
...unleash significant unintended consequences. Manmohan Singh is a senior economist at the IMF. This piece was co-authored by Peter Stella...Central Banking, Monetary and FX Divisions at the IMF. Views expressed are personal and not of the IMFBy Manmohan Singh

FT
May 20, 2012
Derivatives rules will bring new demands
...unintended consequence may have systemic implications, as well as implications for individual players such as pension funds. Manmohan Singh, an economist with the International Monetary Fund, warns of these risks in an IMF working paper. “Swaps of ‘good’ for ‘bad’ collateral may become part of the standard toolkit,” he says... By Sophia Grene

FT - Money Supply
May 14, 2012
Is the money multiplier still something to be feared?
...slippery to form the basis for policy rules. Yet, despite its propensity to fluctuate, the money multiplier still matters. As IMF economist Manmohan Singh and his former colleague at the Fund, Peter Stella, say in a VoxEU note published last week, “its impact on how... Claire Jones


FT
May 14, 2012
Debt securities costly to taxpayers, says IMF
...Treasury debt would like the government to cushion them from capital losses when interest rates adjust rapidly,” wrote Manmohan Singh, senior economist at the IMF and Peter Stella of Stella Consulting. “From a strictly cost and duration perspective, the US Treasury may want to consider... By Michael Mackenzie in New York Show less

FT
April 12, 2012
The (early) Lunch Wrap
...Joseph wonders if the Treasury might be convinced (by the Fed) to go down the floating rate note issuance option. The IMF's Manmohan Singh and Peter Stella suggest it wouldn't be a bad idea. Prepare for a safe asset dystopia: "In the future there will... Izabella Kaminska

FT
April 11, 2012
Floating Treasuries. Levitating Fed.
...haunts markets today. But "flipped" and more like entwining-exit, we suppose. We mention the… Show more

FT
April 12, 2012
The (early) Lunch Wrap
...Joseph wonders if the Treasury might be convinced (by the Fed) to go down the floating rate note issuance option. The IMF's Manmohan Singh and Peter Stella suggest it wouldn't be a bad idea. Prepare for a safe asset dystopia: "In the future there will... Izabella Kaminska

FT
April 11, 2012
Floating Treasuries. Levitating Fed.
...haunts markets today. But "flipped" and more like entwining-exit, we suppose. We mention the 1951 episode because Manmohan Singh and Peter Stella do as an aside in their latest IMF paper on financial collateral as money. As we've noted, the paper makes clear that the supply of "safe" assets is an... Joseph Cotterill

FT
February 14, 2012
Another piece of the LTRO puzzle
...collateral hypothecation etc are crucial. Some very interesting work has been done on this in recent times, including by Manmohan Singh and Zoltan Pozsar at the IMF, along with James Aitken.2 Hyun Shin and others have developed a useful framework in which to think about the issue... Kate Mackenzie Show less

WSJ - April 23, 2011: Pudd'nhead Wilson in Washington; Suddenly, regulators are warning about financial clearinghouses. dated

WSJ, December 8, 2011: Should Fed Refocus on Money Supply?

WSJ, December 8, 2011: Go With the Flow – Carefully

FT
December 9, 2011
Shadow banking and the seven collateral miners
...system. The concept stems from the latest IMF working paper, entitled 'The non...banking system', by Zoltan Pozsar and Manmohan Singh, in which they describe how asset...Nexus and the Shadow Banking System - IMF Working Paper Izabella Kaminska

FT
December 1, 2011
Draghi: "We are aware of the scarcity of eligible collateral"
...bilateral and interbank markets which is determining the fate of the… Show more

FT
December 9, 2011
Shadow banking and the seven collateral miners
...system. The concept stems from the latest IMF working paper, entitled 'The non...banking system', by Zoltan Pozsar and Manmohan Singh, in which they describe how asset...Nexus and the Shadow Banking System - IMF Working Paper Izabella Kaminska

FT
December 1, 2011
Draghi: "We are aware of the scarcity of eligible collateral"
...bilateral and interbank markets which is determining the fate of the eurosystem. Which brings us to this new paper from Manmohan Singh, an IMF economist, about the velocity of collateral, as picked up by Marginal Revolution. Specifically this chart, which sums... Izabella Kaminska

FT
November 28, 2011
Financial system creaks as loan lubricant dries up
...actually serve to increase “hidden” risk in the financial system as the market devises new ways of tackling the shortage. Manmohan Singh, an IMF economist, says in a new working paper that there has been “a significant decline in the source of collateral... By Tracy Alloway

FT
November 3, 2011
Subprime moment looms for ‘risk-free’ sovereign debt
...sovereign entities have generally not posted collateral for derivatives deals, partly because of that risk-free tag. But Manmohan Singh, an economist at the IMF, believes that this anomaly has helped to create a severe under-collateralisation problem, worth $1,500bn-$2000bn... By Gillian Tett Show less

FT
April 6, 2011
Quick View: Bernanke sounds an alarm on clearing
...But Mr Bernanke was signalling he believes he has spotted a potential new market risk: clearing house failure. In a recent IMF paper economist Manmohan Singh argues that clearing houses – or central counterparties (CCPs) – have become “risk nodes” in financial markets... By Jeremy Grant

FT
April 1, 2011
Derivatives tax plan is unconvincing
...latest working paper by the International Monetary Fund’s… Show more

FT
April 6, 2011
Quick View: Bernanke sounds an alarm on clearing
...But Mr Bernanke was signalling he believes he has spotted a potential new market risk: clearing house failure. In a recent IMF paper economist Manmohan Singh argues that clearing houses – or central counterparties (CCPs) – have become “risk nodes” in financial markets... By Jeremy Grant

FT
April 1, 2011
Derivatives tax plan is unconvincing
...latest working paper by the International Monetary Fund’s Manmohan Singh on over-the-counter derivatives clearing (“IMF raises concern over US reforms to derivatives trading...on the back burner. A derivatives tax, as proposed in the IMF working paper, is definitely not the answer, especially coming...

FT
March 29, 2011
IMF queries derivatives reform effectiveness
...banks’ derivatives liabilities should be considered, the IMF paper said. The concerns add further fuel to the debate about...a bank to go under without triggering a financial crisis. Manmohan Singh, the author of the IMF working paper, said the clearing houses may themselves be... By Aline van Duyn


FT
January 20, 2011
Lisbon move points to end of risk-free sovereigns
...collateralisation in the OTC derivatives market. Last year, Manmohan Singh, an economist at the International Monetary Fund...Netting and Systemic Risk in the OTC Derivatives Market; Manmohan Singh. IMF working paper April 2010; The Global Risk Transfer Market... By Gillian Tet Show less

FT
August 24, 2010
IMF economists criticise CDS model
...financial crisis with some critics arguing that they tipped some groups closer to collapse. But a recent working paper by Manmohan Singh and Karim Youssef, economists at the IMF, argues that they offer a flawed model for policymakers looking at potential losses and contagion among large banks in times... By Richard Milne


FT
August 12, 2010
Web of shadow banking must be unravelled
...border dimension. In the… Show more

FT
August 24, 2010
IMF economists criticise CDS model
...financial crisis with some critics arguing that they tipped some groups closer to collapse. But a recent working paper by Manmohan Singh and Karim Youssef, economists at the IMF, argues that they offer a flawed model for policymakers looking at potential losses and contagion among large banks in times... By Richard Milne


FT
August 12, 2010
Web of shadow banking must be unravelled
...border dimension. In the UK, as the IMF notes, “an unlimited amount of customers...rehypothecated in this way. Thus the IMF calculates that US bank funding from rehypothecation...Rehypothecation in the Shadow Banking system; Manmohan Singh and James Aitken, IMF July 2010. By Gillian Tett Show less

September 11, 2009
Academia
...assets frozen in the bank's bankrupcty. IMF economist Manmohan Singh and UBS executive director James...business and collateral supply, in this IMF working paper. Hedge funds as liquidity...of CDS spreads during distress The IMF's Manmohan Singh and American University's Carolyne... FT Alphaville

FT
February 5, 2013
Crunch feared if collateral rules enforced
...policymakers’ actions on collateral supplies, which are vital for the safe functioning of the financial system. A separate IMF paper published last week by Manmohan Singh, who has carved himself a role as a collateral expert, argues regulators are also throwing spanners into the financial... By Ralph Atkins


FT Alphaville
February 4, 2013
A floor with a few holes
...analogy, at least in the US… Show more

FT
February 5, 2013
Crunch feared if collateral rules enforced
...policymakers’ actions on collateral supplies, which are vital for the safe functioning of the financial system. A separate IMF paper published last week by Manmohan Singh, who has carved himself a role as a collateral expert, argues regulators are also throwing spanners into the financial... By Ralph Atkins


FT Alphaville
February 4, 2013
A floor with a few holes
...analogy, at least in the US case. Izzy has already covered Manmohan Singh's excellent paper and presentation. In it he raises...Carpenter et al, the Fed The Changing Collateral Space - Manmohan Singh, IMF An idea better kept in reserve - FT Alphaville Simon Hinrichsen


FT Alphaville
February 1, 2013
Weekender
...offered some LTRO porn, semi-core Belgian edition. - Andrew Dilnot struck again, much to the PM's chagrin, no doubt. - Manmohan Singh helped us clarify the difference between a collateral shortage and a scarcity of collateral... - ... while we...from Anat Admati about the perpetualisation of debt. - China's paths to urbanisation came into focus... - ... as the IMF ponders the country's Lewis Turning Point. - Spain found $40bn hidden in the sofa. - We looked at the looooong path... Cardiff Garcia


FT Alphaville
February 1, 2013
It's not a collateral shortage, it's a scarcity of collateral
...of collateral-based finance and the presentation given by Manmohan Singh (speaking in an independent capacity rather than as a representative of the IMF). The key takeaway from Singh's presentation: it's not...up post. Really links: The Changing Collateral Space - IMF Working Paper On the new purpose of government debt - FT Alphaville... Izabella Kaminska Show less