BIS Working Papers are written by members of the Monetary and Economic Department of the Bank for International Settlements, and from time to time by other economists, and are published by the Bank. The papers are on subjects of topical interest and are technical in character. The views expressed in them are those of their authors and not necessarily the views of the BIS.This working paper was written for the Conference on "Changes in risk through time: measurement and policy options" that took place at the BIS on

We argue that in order to achieve price stability in a sustainable way, central banks should consider paying greater attention to credit in their monetary policy strategies than is generally the case at present. Specifically, simply setting monetary policy so that a two-year inflation forecast is at the central bank's target may, on occasions, be less than optimal. In particular, the central bank may wish to deviate from such a strategy when developments in the financial system are exposing the macroeconomy to materially increased risk. Doing so calls for longer policy horizons together with an explicit incorporation into policy decisions of the balance of risks in the outlook. One important indicator that risk is building up is unusually sustained and rapid credit growth occurring alongside unusually sustained and large increases in asset prices ("financial imbalances"). Building on previous work, we show that empirical proxies for financial imbalances contain useful information about subsequent banking crises, output and inflation beyond traditional two-year policy horizons. On the basis of Taylor rule-type descriptions of policy, we also investigate the response of central banks to financial imbalances. We find evidence that, at least until recently, central banks generally either have not responded to imbalances systematically or, to the extent that they have, have done so asymmetrically, loosening policy further than normal in the face of their unwinding but not tightening it beyond normal as they build up. 1 This paper was prepared for the ECB Workshop on "Asset Prices and Monetary Policy", 11-12 December 2003, Frankfurt.We would like to thank Jeff Amato, Joe Bisignano, Tony Courakis, Andy Filardo, Kostas Tsatsaronis, Bill White and Konstanz seminar participants for their very helpful comments. Maurizio Luisi (Section II), Tim Robinson (estimated Taylor rules) and Michela Scatigna and Stephan Arthur (imposed Taylor rules) provided excellent and indispensable research assistance. We would also like to thank Janet Plancherel for putting the document together. The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of either the BIS or the Reserve Bank of Australia.

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This paper examines the two-way linkages between credit risk measurement and the macroeconomy. It first discusses the issue of whether credit risk is low or high in economic booms. It then reviews how macroeconomic considerations are incorporated into credit risk models and the risk measurement approach that underlies the New Basel Capital Accord. Finally, it asks what effect these measurement approaches are likely to have on the macroeconomy, particularly through their role in influencing the level of bank capital. The paper argues that much remains to be done in integrating macroeconomic considerations into risk measurement, particularly during the upswing of business cycles that are characterised by rapid increases in credit and asset prices. It also suggests that a system of risk-based capital requirements is likely to deliver large changes in minimum requirements over the business cycle, particularly if risk measurement is based on market prices. This has the potential to increase the financial amplification of business cycles, although other aspects of risk-based capital requirements are likely to work in the other direction. Further work on evaluating the net effects is important for both supervisory and monetary authorities. BIS Working Papers are written by members of the Monetary and Economic Department of the Bank for International Settlements, and from time to time by other economists, and are published by the Bank. The papers are on subjects of topical interest and are technical in character. The views expressed in them are those of their authors and not necessarily the views of the BIS.