The Benefits and Risks of Liquidity Bridges

Liquidity bridging has evolved over time as cross-border payments have evolved. G20 commitment To establish a cross-border payment program.

As central banks consider whether to bridge liquidity, here are some highlights of their benefits and challenges.

Bridges benefit participants by how they can reduce the need for:

Have multiple collateral buffers in different jurisdictions and/or currencies

・Forex trading contract

・Has a cache buffer

As a result, this greatly helps reduce transaction costs, associated settlement risks and, generally speaking, overall complexity or operations.

Additionally, given the added flexibility, it helps banks manage intraday liquidity.

Therefore, exploring the area of ​​liquidity bridging, which can effectively reduce the cost of international payment services while ensuring that they offer many benefits to payment service providers and banks in terms of liquidity management, is the industry’s biggest challenge. It’s a concern.

Use liquidity more efficiently

Banks are now forced to invest in liquid assets that can be used as collateral or have to hold foreign currency in foreign central banks or their respective correspondent bank accounts.

And while this need to raise liquidity may rightly be viewed as a serious credit risk, many overlook the opportunity cost that comes with it.

To compound the problem, banks typically over-obligate payments as a way of managing risk to payments.

A liquidity bridge can free up participants’ tied-up liquidity and reduce costs at the same time. This also makes it easier for banks to better allocate collateral and manage their intraday needs. Currencies will likely need to hold sizable pools across the jurisdictions in which they operate, including rising funding costs and the inevitable pass-through of costs to end-users, as well as cross-border payments. It also increases costs.

Reducing friction in cross-border payments

Compared to alternatives, bridges have a much easier settlement process and require less counterparties and clearing houses.

Credit and settlement risks can also be reduced or completely eliminated via liquidity bridges. As such, cross-border payments are faster, cheaper and, more importantly, less frictional.

Helping achieve financial stability

Intraday liquidity is highly dependent on central bank regulations for domestic market participants.

With intraday payment obligations in mind, higher adoption of liquidity bridges is likely to result in lower intraday settlement risk internationally.

In addition, once collateral demand begins to stabilize, asset volatility will decrease, increasing overall financial stability.

Liquidity bridge risks and challenges

While operational costs are high, central banks establishing and operating liquidity bridges must also face other risks.

Risks can be classified into at least four different categories.

1. Entry risk

2. Operational risk

3. Financial risk

4. Systemic risk

First and foremost, bridges can only be established where banks are legally permitted to operate.

The risks are inherently higher if the jurisdiction does not provide a sound legal framework.

In addition, the regulatory frameworks, legal agreements, technical and operational costs of implementation, and even currency fluctuations in other jurisdictions affect the case when it comes to bridging multiple countries.

Systemic risk also increases when participants become interdependent, whether in bilateral or multilateral bridges.

Finally, there are also emerging market risks and developing economy risks to consider.

summary

Liquidity bridging allows banks and PSPs to reduce costs while reducing costs associated with cross-border payments.

Risk management should be a top priority for participants as there are still some challenges to be addressed.

But the upside is undeniably huge, and with the G20 pushing for a unified framework, participants can certainly move closer to overall financial stability.

Liquidity bridging has evolved over time as cross-border payments have evolved. G20 commitment To establish a cross-border payment program.

As central banks consider whether to bridge liquidity, here are some highlights of their benefits and challenges.

Bridges benefit participants by how they can reduce the need for:

Have multiple collateral buffers in different jurisdictions and/or currencies

・Forex trading contract

・Have a cache buffer

As a result, this greatly helps reduce transaction costs, associated settlement risks and, generally speaking, overall complexity or operations.

Additionally, given the added flexibility, it helps banks manage intraday liquidity.

Therefore, exploring the area of ​​liquidity bridging, which can effectively reduce the cost of international payment services while ensuring that they offer many benefits to payment service providers and banks in terms of liquidity management, is the industry’s biggest challenge. It’s a concern.

Use liquidity more efficiently

Banks are now forced to invest in liquid assets that can be used as collateral or have to hold foreign currency in foreign central banks or their respective correspondent bank accounts.

And while this need to raise liquidity may rightly be viewed as a serious credit risk, many overlook the opportunity cost that comes with it.

To compound the problem, banks typically over-obligate payments as a way of managing risk to payments.

Liquidity bridges can free up participants’ tied-up liquidity and reduce costs at the same time. This also makes it easier for banks to better allocate collateral and manage their intraday needs. Currencies will likely need to hold sizable pools across the jurisdictions in which they operate, including rising funding costs and the inevitable pass-through of costs to end-users, as well as cross-border payments. It also increases costs.

Reducing friction in cross-border payments

Compared to alternatives, bridges have a much easier settlement process and require less counterparties and clearing houses.

Credit and settlement risks can also be reduced or completely eliminated via liquidity bridges. As such, cross-border payments are faster, cheaper and, more importantly, less frictional.

Helping achieve financial stability

Intraday liquidity is highly dependent on central bank regulations for domestic market participants.

With intraday payment obligations in mind, higher adoption of liquidity bridges is likely to result in lower intraday settlement risk internationally.

In addition, once collateral demand begins to stabilize, asset volatility will decrease, increasing overall financial stability.

Liquidity bridge risks and challenges

While operational costs are high, central banks establishing and operating liquidity bridges must also face other risks.

Risks can be classified into at least four different categories.

1. Entry risk

2. Operational risk

3. Financial risk

4. Systemic risk

First and foremost, bridges can only be established where banks are legally permitted to operate.

The risks are inherently higher if the jurisdiction does not provide a sound legal framework.

In addition, the regulatory frameworks, legal agreements, technical and operational costs of implementation, and even currency fluctuations in other jurisdictions affect the case when it comes to bridging multiple countries.

Systemic risk also increases when participants become interdependent, whether in bilateral or multilateral bridges.

Finally, there are also emerging market risks and developing economy risks to consider.

summary

Liquidity bridging allows banks and PSPs to reduce costs while reducing costs associated with cross-border payments.

Risk management should be a top priority for participants as there are still some challenges to be addressed.

But the upside is undeniably huge, and with the G20 pushing for a unified framework, participants can certainly move closer to overall financial stability.

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