Cara Bordier

I am a PhD Candidate in Finance at the Swiss Finance Institute, hosted by the University of St. Gallen and the University of Basel.

My research interests are international finance, financial intermediation, market microstructure, and central banking.

I am a research collaborator at the Swiss National Bank and visited the Bank for International Settlements as a technical advisor.

Email
cara.bordier@unibas.ch
Address
University of Basel, Faculty of Business and Economics
Peter-Merian-Weg 6, 4002 Basel, Switzerland
Online
LinkedIn  ·  SSRN
Cara Bordier

Working Papers

Dollar Dominance: A Source of Dollar Volatility?
with Lukas Frei and Simon Stalder
SNB Working Paper 2026-05

The US dollar (USD) is involved in 88% of global foreign exchange transactions, partly due to its role as a vehicle currency. Using high-frequency data from primary interdealer platforms, we show that cross-trades via the USD can generate price fluctuations in USD exchange rates and amplify aggregate USD volatility. These results highlight a fundamental trade-off: while dollar dominance enhances market liquidity, it also increases the currency's exposure to shocks originating in other currency pairs.

Upcoming presentations: EFA 2026, 21st Central Bank Conference on Microstructure of Financial Markets.
Currency network chart
The Term Structure of Dollar Funding
with Angelo Ranaldo and Andreas Schrimpf
Draft, 2026

We document a term structure in covered interest parity (CIP) deviations: the premium for synthetic USD borrowing via FX swaps rises with maturity. Using a preferred-habitat framework and novel daily data on FX swap positions and flows, we show that banks can exploit this term structure by lending USD at long maturities and funding these positions with short-maturity USD borrowing. Dealer banks maintain such maturity mismatches at a scale of several hundred billion USD, with potential implications for financial stability.

Best Ph.D. Poster Award, International Finance Society Annual Meeting 2026.
CIP term structure chart

Curriculum Vitae