
How banks’ dollar holdings drive exchange rate dynamics
Non-U.S. financial institutions hold precautionary positions in U.S. dollar assets as protection against financial shocks. This gives rise to a safety premium on the dollar. The premium varies over time and, hence, not only accounts for contemporaneous exchange rate dynamics but also helps to predict exchange rate trends. An IMF paper measures non-U.S. banks’ dollar demand for 26 economies as the ratio of assets denominated in dollar to total assets by nationality. Demand for U.S. dollars tends to surge following negative financial market shocks and causes dollar strength. Non-U.S. holdings of dollar assets have also been a highly significant predictor of dollar trends in subsequent years. Thus, large holdings have heralded dollar depreciation in the past.