Financial Regulation and Bank Supervision During a Pandemic

Abstract

Purpose: Pandemics lead to a sudden decline in the level of economic activities. Lending institutions reduce credit supply to businesses due to fears of rising bad debts during a pandemic. This chapter highlights some approach to financial regulation and bank supervision during a pandemic such as the SARS and COVID-19 pandemic.

Methodology: This chapter uses discourse analysis based on the literature on banking regulation and supervision.

Findings: The author shows that financial regulation during a pandemic can be enhanced by diversifying the financial system, maintaining adequate liquidity in the financial system, stimulating financial institutions to provide more credit, delaying the recognition of significant increase in credit risk, lowering the reference interest rate to encourage more lending, and providing stimulus packages to financial institutions in the economy. The author also suggest measures to improve bank supervision during a pandemic which include adopting a flexible supervisory framework, modifying bank supervisory examinations, using ad hoc stress tests, releasing the countercyclical capital buffer to banks, and increase the use of regulatory forbearance.

Implications: The implication of these approaches to coping with a pandemic is that these measures can help to ensure the survival of small and large businesses and financial institutions. It can also help to preserve jobs and help to reduce the long-term damage to the economy caused by the pandemic.

Originality: Prior studies have not examined the effect of COVID-19 pandemic on bank supervision and financial regulation.

Citation

Ozili, P.K. (2022), "Financial Regulation and Bank Supervision During a Pandemic", Grima, S., Özen, E. and Gonzi, R.E.D. (Ed.) Insurance and Risk Management for Disruptions in Social, Economic and Environmental Systems: Decision and Control Allocations within New Domains of Risk (Emerald Studies in Finance, Insurance, and Risk Management), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 29-37. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80117-139-720211002