Currency crises may also be caused by weak financial systems. Weak banks can
trigger speculative attacks if people think the central bank will rescue the banks even
at the cost of spending much of its foreign reserves to do so. The explicit or implicit
promise to rescue the banks is a form of moral hazard—a situation in which people
do not pay the full cost of their own mistakes. As people become apprehensive about
the future value of the local currency, they sell it to obtain more stable foreign
currencies.
Some of the major currency crises of the last 20 years have occurred in countries
that had recently deregulated their financial systems. Many governments formerly
used financial regulations to channel investment into politically favored outlets. In
return, they restricted competition among banks, life insurance companies, and the
like. Profits from restricted competition subsidized unprofitable government-directed
investments. Deregulation altered the picture by reducing the government direction
of investments and allowing more competition among institutions. However, governments
failed to ensure that in the new environment of greater freedom to reap
the rewards of success, financial institutions also bore greater responsibility for failure.
Therefore, financial institutions made mistakes in the unfamiliar environment of
deregulation, failed, and were rescued at public expense. This rescue resulted in public
fears about the future value of the local currency and the selling of it to obtain
more stable foreign currencies.