Dear Colleagues,

The COVID-19 pandemic has generated an unprecedented human, health, and economic crisis. There is great uncertainty about its severity and duration. International reports clearly show that the financial system has received a substantial negative impact, and any further intensification of the crisis could affect global financial stability.

International prices of risk assets have fallen sharply, while credit spreads have jumped, especially for lower-rated firms. Moreover, signs of stress have also emerged in major short-term funding markets, including the global market for U.S. dollars. As a result, market liquidity has deteriorated significantly, leading to massive and unexpected asset price moves. As a result, central banks across the globe have been the first line of defense, significantly easing monetary policy through reduced policy rates, providing additional liquidity to the financial system, and reactivating programs used during the global financial crisis (e.g., QE programs).

The global spread of COVID-19 may require the imposition of tougher and longer- lasting containment measures, which could result in more severe and prolonged downturns. This will expose financial vulnerabilities that have built in recent years in the environment of extremely low interest rates, leading to the exacerbation of the COVID-19 shock. Central banks will remain crucial to safeguarding the stability of global financial markets and maintaining the flow of credit to the economy. In a coordinated fashion, monetary, fiscal, and financial policies should aim to cushion the impact of the COVID-19 shock and to ensure a steady, sustainable recovery.

This Special Issue invites researchers to submit their work across all dimensions of the financial system to recommend ideas and solutions for the post-COVID-19 era.

Prof. Dr. Nicholas Apergis
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Financial Studies is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• asset markets
• equity markets
• commodity markets
• monetary policy
• banking sector
• bond markets
• currency markets
• derivatives markets
• real estate markets
• covered bonds