Skip to main content
Log in

Lender of Last Resort: What Have We Learned Since Bagehot?

  • Published:
Journal of Financial Services Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The maintenance of financial stability is facilitated by well-designed “safety-net” arrangements aimed at limiting the risk of disruption in the financial system (crisis prevention) and the consequences of disruption if it arises (crisis management). An important element of crisis management is the lender of last resort (LOLR) function. This article reviews the main ideas on LOLR reflected in the academic literature, going back to Henry Thornton almost 200 years ago.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aharony, J. and I. Swary. “Additional Evidence on the Information-Based Contagion Effects of Bank Failures.” Journal of Banking and Finance 20 (1996), 57-69.

    Google Scholar 

  • Angelini, P., G. Maresca, and D. Russo. “Systemic Risk in the Netting System.” Journal of Banking and Finance 20 (1996), 853-868.

    Google Scholar 

  • Avery, R.B., T.M. Belton, and M.A. Goldberg. “Market Discipline in Regulating Bank Risk: New Evidence from the Capital Markets.” Journal of Money, Credit, and Banking 20 (1988), 597-610.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bagehot, W. Lombard Street: A Description of the Money Market. London: H. S. King, 1873.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bank for International Settlements. G-10 Report on Financial Stability in Emerging Market Economies. Basel: BIS, 1997.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bank for International Settlements. Sound Practices for Managing Liquidity in Banking Organisations. Basel: Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, 1999.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bank of England. Payment and Settlement Systems Risk and Efficiency: A Discussion Paper. Mimeo (1989).

  • Bank of England. “The Bank of England Act 1998.” Quarterly Bulletin May (1998), 93-99.

  • Benston, G.J. and G. Kaufman. “Deposit Insurance Reform in the FDIC Improvement Act: The Experience to Date.” Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago 22 no. 2 (second quarter 1998), 2-20.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berger A., S. Davies, and M. Flannery. “Comparing Market and Regulatory Assessments of Bank Performance: Who Knows What When?” Federal Reserve Board working paper, (1998).

  • Bernanke, B. and M. Gertler. “Inside the Black Box: The Credit Channel of Monetary Policy Transmission.” Journal of Economic Perspectives 9, (1995), 27-48.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bordo, M.D. “Financial Crises, Banking Crises, Stock Market Crashes and the Money Supply: Some International Evidence, 1870-1933.” In: F. Capie and G.E. Wood, eds., Financial Crises and the World Banking System. London: Macmillan, 1986, pp. 190-248.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bordo, M.D. “The Lender of Last Resort: Alternative Views and Historical Experience.” Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond Economic Review (1990), 18-29.

  • Brierley, P.G. and G.W. Vlieghe. “Corporate Workouts, the London Approach and Financial Stability.” Financial Stability Review, Bank of England (1999).

  • Calomiris, C. and C. Khan. “The Role of Demandable Debt in Restructuring Optimal Banking Arrangements.” American Economic Review 81, no. 3 (1991), 497-513.

    Google Scholar 

  • Capie, F., C. Goodhart, S. Fischer, and N. Schnadt. The Future of Central Banking: The Tercentenary Symposium of the Bank of England. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chari, V. and R. Jagannathan. “Banking Panics, Information, and Rational Expectations Equilibrium.” Journal of Finance 43 (1988), 749-761.

    Google Scholar 

  • Corrigan, E.G. Statement Before US Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs. Washington D.C.: (1990).

  • Crockett, A. “The Theory and Practice of Financial Stability.” De Economist 144, no. 4 (1996), 531-568.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davis, K. “Bank Deregulation, Supervision, and Agency Problems.” Australian Economic Review (Third Quarter 1995), 43-54.

  • Demirgüç-Kunt, A. and E. Detragiache. “Does Deposit Insurance Increase Banking System Stability? An Empirical Investigation.” Unpublished paper, World Bank, 1999.

  • Diamond, D. “Financial Intermediation and Delegated Monitoring.” Review of Economics Studies, July (1984), 393-414.

  • Diamond, D. “Reputation Acquisition in Debt Markets.” Review of Economic Studies 99 (1989), 689-721.

    Google Scholar 

  • Diamond, D and P. Dybvig. “Bank Runs, Deposit Insurance, and Liquidity.” Journal of Political Economy 91 (1983), 401-419.

    Google Scholar 

  • Docking, D., M. Hirschey, and E. Jones. “Information and Contagion Effects of Bank Loan-Loss Reserve Announcements.” Journal of Financial Economics (1997), 219-239.

  • Dowd, K. “Models of Banking Instability: A Partial Review of the Literature.” Journal of Economic Surveys 6 (1992), 107-132.

    Google Scholar 

  • Edgeworth, F.Y. “The Mathematical Theory of Banking.” Journal of Royal Statistical Society 51 (1888), 113-127.

    Google Scholar 

  • Enoch, C. P. Stella, and M. Khamis. “Transparency and Ambiguity in Central Bank Safety Net Operations.” IMF Working Paper WP/97/138 (1997).

  • Fischer, S. “On the Need for an International Lender of Last Resort.” Paper prepared for the American Economic Association and the American Finance Association Meetings, 1999.

  • Flannery, M. “Financial Crises, Payment System Problems, and Discount Window Lending.” Journal of Money, Credit and Banking 28 (1996), 804-824.

    Google Scholar 

  • Freixas, X and B. Parigi. “Contagion and Efficiency in Gross and Net Payment Systems.” Journal of Financial Intermediation (1997).

  • Freixas, X., B. Parigi, and J.C. Rochet, “Systemic Risk, Interbank Relations and Liquidity Provision by the Central Bank.” Mimeo, IDEI, 1998.

  • Freixas, X. and J.C. Rochet, Microeconomics of Banking, Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1997.

    Google Scholar 

  • Friedman, M. A Program for Monetary Stability New York: Fordham University Press, 1959.

    Google Scholar 

  • Furfine, C. “Interbank Exposures: Quantifying the Risk of Contagion.” Bank for International Settlements Working Paper No. 70 1999.

  • Garcia, G. and E. Plautz, The Federal Reserve: Lender of Last Resort, Cambridge, Mass.: Ballinger Books, 1988.

    Google Scholar 

  • George, E.A.J. “The Pursuit of Financial Stability.” Bank of England Quarterly Bulletin (February 1994), 60-66.

  • Giannini, C. “Enemy of None but a Common Friend of All? An International Perspective on the Lender of Last Resort Function.” Princeton Essays in International Finance no. 214 (1999).

  • Goodfriend, M. and R.G. King, “Financial Deregulation, Monetary Policy and Central Banking.” Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond Economic Review 74, no. 3 (1988).

  • Goodfriend, M. and J.M. Lacker, “Limited Commitment and Central Bank Lending.” Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond Working Paper 99-2 (1999).

  • Goodhart, C.A.E. The Evolution of Central Banks. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1988.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goodhart, C.A.E. The Central Bank and the Financial System. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1995.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goodhart, C.A.E. “Myths About the Lender of Last Resort.” International Finance 23 (1999).

  • Goodhart, C.A.E. and H. Huang, “A Model of the Lender of Last Resort.” LSE Financial Markets group discussion Paper, dp0131, (1999).

  • Goodhart, C.A.E. and D. Schoenmaker. “Institutional Separation Between Supervisory and Monetary Agencies.” LSE Financial Markets Group Special Paper No. 52 (1993).

  • Goodhart, C.A.E. and D. Schoenmaker. “Should the Functions of Monetary Policy and Bank Supervision be Separated?” Oxford Economic Papers 39 (1995), 75-89.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gorton, G. “Banking Panics and Business Cycles.” Oxford Economic Papers 40 (1988), 751-781.

    Google Scholar 

  • Greenbaum, S.J., G. Kanatas, and J. Venezia. “Equilibrium Loan Pricing Under the Bank-Client Relationship.” Journal of Banking and Finance 13 (1989), 221-235.

    Google Scholar 

  • Greenbaum, S.I. and A. Thakor. Contemporary Financial Intermediation, Orlando, FL: Dryden Press, 1995.

    Google Scholar 

  • Greenbaum, S.I. and I. Venezia. “Partial Exercise of Loan Commitments Under Adaptive Pricing.” Journal of Financial Research 8 (1985), 251-263.

    Google Scholar 

  • Guttentag, J. and R. Herring. “The Lender of Last Resort Function in an International Context.” Princeton Essays in International Finance no. 151 (1983).

  • Haldane, A.G. “Private Sector Involvement and Public Policy.” Financial Stability Review, Bank of England (1999).

  • Hawtrey, R. The Art of Central Banking, London: 1932.

  • Hills, R. and D.S. Rule. “Counterpaty Credit Risk in Wholesale Payment and Settlement Systems.” Financial Stability Review, Bank of England (1999).

  • Humphrey, D.B. “Payments Finality and Risk of Settlement Failure.” In: A.S. Saunders and L.J. White, eds., Technology and Regulation of Financial Markets: Securities, Futures and Banking, Lexington, Mass.: Lexington Books, 1986, 97-120.

    Google Scholar 

  • International Monetary Fund. Code of Good Practices on Transparency in Monetary and Financial Policies: Declaration of Principles. Washington, D.C.: IMF, 1999.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jacklin, C. and S. Bhattacharya. “Distinguishing Panics and Information-Based Bank Runs: Welfare and Policy Implications.” Journal of Political Economy 96 (1988), 568-592.

    Google Scholar 

  • James, C. “The Losses Realised in Bank Failures.” Journal of Finance (September 1991), 1223-1242.

  • Kaufman, G. “Lender of Last Resort: A Contemporary Perspective.” Journal of Financial Services Research 5 (1991), 95-110.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kaufman, G. “Bank Contagion: A Review of the Theory and Evidence.” Journal of Financial Services Research (1994), 123-150.

  • Kent, P. “Corporate Workouts: A UK Perspective.” International Insolvency Review 6 (1997), 165-182.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kindleberger, C. Manias, Panics, and Crashes: A History of Financial Crises. New York: Basic Books, 1989.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kobayakawa, S. “The Comparative Analysis of Settlement Systems.” CEPR Discussion Paper No. 1667 (1997).

  • Krugman, P. “Balance Sheets, the Transfer Problem, and Financial Crises.” Journal of Money, Credit, and Banking 11 (1999), 311-325.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lastra, R.M. “Lender of Last Resort.” Paper presented at EBRD seminar; unpublished, (1997).

  • Liu, C. and S.G. Ryan. “The Effect of Bank Loan Portfolio Composition on the Market Reaction to an Anticipation of Loan Loss Reserves.” Journal of Accounting Research 33 (1995), 77-94.

    Google Scholar 

  • McAndrews, J. and G. Wasilyew. “Simulations of Failure in a Payments System.” Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia Working Paper 95-19 (1995).

  • McDonough, W.J. Statement Before the Committee on Banking and Financial Services, U.S House of Representatives. Washington, D.C.: 1998.

  • Michael, I. “Financial Interlinkages and Systemic Risk.” Financial Stability Review, Bank of England no. 4 (1998), 26-33.

  • Miron, J. “Financial Panics, the Seasonality of the Nominal Interest Rate, and the Founding of the Fed.” American Economic Review 76 (1986), 125-140.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mishkin, F. “Comments on Systemic Risk.” In: G. Kaufman, ed., Banking Financial Markets and Systemic Risk: Research in Financial Services, Private and Public Policy, vol. 7, Greenwich, Conn.: JAI Press, (1995). pp. 31-45.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mishkin, F. “Moral Hazard and Reform of the Government Safety Net.” Paper prepared for FRB Chicago conference, lessons from Recent Global Financial Crises, Chicago, September 30-October 2, (1999).

  • Morris, S. and H. Shin. “Co-ordination Risk and the Price of Debt.” Mimeo (1999).

  • Nakaso, H. “Recent Banking Sector Reforms in Japan.” Economic Policy Review, Federal Reserve Bank of New York (July 1999), 1-7.

  • Park, S. “Market Discipline by Depositors: Evidence from Reduced-Form Equations.” Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance 35 (1995), 497-514.

    Google Scholar 

  • Prati, A. and G. Schinasi. “Financial Stability in European Economic and Monetary Union.” Mimeo (1999).

  • Rajan, G. “Insiders and Outsiders: The Choice Between Informed and Arm's-Length Debt.” Journal of Finance 47 (1992), 1367-1400.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reid, M. The Secondary Banking Crisis, 1973-75: Its Causes and Course. London: Macmillan, 1982.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rochet, J.C. and J. Tirole. “Interbank Lending and Systemic Risk.” Journal of Money, Credit, and Banking 28 (1996), 733-762.

    Google Scholar 

  • Santomero, A. and P. Hoffman. “Problem Bank Resolution: Evaluating the Options.” The Wharton School Financial Institutions Center Discussion Paper 98-05 (1998).

  • Schoenmaker, D. “A Comparison of Alternative Interbank Settlement Systems.” LSE Financial Markets Group Discussion Paper No. 204 (1995).

  • Schwartz, A. “The Misuse of the Fed's Discount Window.” Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Review (September-October 1992), 58-69.

  • Schwartz, A. “Systemic Risk and the Macroeconomy.” In: G. Kaufman, ed., Banking Financial Markets and Systemic Risk: Research in Financial Services, Private and Public Policy, vol. 7 Greenwich, Conn.: JAI Press, 1995, pp. 19-30.

    Google Scholar 

  • Selgin, G. “In Defence of Bank Suspension.” Journal of Financial Services Research 7 (1993), 347-364.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sharpe, A. “Asymmetric Information, Bank Lending, and Implicit Contracts?A Stylised Model of Customer Relationships.” Journal of Finance 45 (1990), 1069-1087.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stella, P. “Do Central Banks Need Capital?” IMF Working Paper WP/97/83 (1997).

  • Treasury and Civil Service Committee. Sixth Report: The Regulation of Financial Services in the U.K., vol. 2.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Freixas, X., Giannini, C., Hoggarth, G. et al. Lender of Last Resort: What Have We Learned Since Bagehot?. Journal of Financial Services Research 18, 63–84 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1026527607455

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1026527607455

Navigation