New Technologies and the Future Governance of Bank Run Risk

Abstract

The banking turmoil in March 2023 and the associated public interventions to prevent or reduce the risk of a systemic fallout underscore the fact that despite banking systems being in a much better shape in many countries relative to the position prior to the global financial crisis, some bank run risk remains. In fact, bank run risk may be increasing. As fintech and new technologies transform banking, uninsured deposits may become near-perfectly mobile, making bank runs all but inevitable if the governance of the financial system is not appropriately adapted. In this article we discuss how digitalization and new technologies can affect bank run risk and we look at approaches to adapting governance to containing related systemic vulnerabilities in the banking system. We also briefly consider how central bank digital currencies could fit into future frameworks. We conclude that there is no silver bullet, but that adjusting frameworks will become necessary if bank deposit mobility increases.