BERTUCCI Louis

Over the centuries, financial institutions have shaped the financial landscape and influenced economic activity. The objective of this thesis is to highlight, from a theoretical point of view, the fundamental limitations of modern institutions and to deduce the implications for the future role of these institutions.The first chapter proposes an analysis of clearing houses. Following the financial crisis of 2008, financial authorities around the world have implemented regulations imposing central clearing on most derivatives. We show that central clearing requires a higher level of liquidity than bilateral clearing.The second chapter presents a continuous time learning model that is supposed to represent the learning process of an institution with respect to a hidden information held by the market. The last chapter introduces and analyzes the Lightning Network which is a payment network based on the Blockchain. It allows users to transfer value instantly without the need for a trusted third party. We discuss the implications about the structure of this payment network as well as its ability to take an important place in the financial landscape.

Throughout the centuries, financial institutions have shaped the financial landscape and influenced economic activity. The goal of this dissertation is to highlight, from a theoretical point of view, fundamental limitations of modern institutions and eventually derive implications regarding the future role of those institutions.The first chapter provides an analysis of Central Clearing Platforms (CCP). In the aftermath of the financial crisis of 2008, financial authorities around the world implemented regulations imposing central clearing on most derivative products. It is shown that central clearing often requires a larger liquidity buffer than bilateral clearing.The second chapter presents a continuous-time learning model meant to represent the learning process of an institution such as a central bank regarding a hidden information held by the market. The equilibrium level of uncertainty perceived by agents is shown to be an important limitation to the role of financial institutions.The last chapter introduces a specific blockchain-based payment network called the Lightning Network. It allows users to transfer value instantly without relying on any trusted third party. We discuss the implications regarding the structure of this network as well as its ability to become an important part of the financial landscape.