France
IMF Paris explosion leaves one injured
Letter bomb explodes at the IMF headquarters in Paris, less than a day after an explosive device was sent to the German finance minister; Lagarde condemns the “cowardly act”
Farms, germs and loans: central banking in 19th century France
Researchers study Banque de France’s lender-of-last-resort operations
French central bank reveals details of blockchain experiment
Banque de France teams up with a fintech start-up to run distributed ledger tech through Sepa; the results of project expected to be presented at a conference in 2017
IMF board backs Lagarde after negligence verdict
Executive board affirms “full confidence” in managing director after French court hands down negligence verdict, but chooses not to impose punishment
Lagarde guilty of negligence, court rules
IMF chief found guilty of negligence but is not punished; verdict may call into question her future at the fund
Spanish paper looks at eurozone inflation expectations
Pan-eurozone factors are more important than country-specific forces, paper says
Eurozone reform projects are not delivering, French governor says
“Investment crunch” is biggest problem, not savings glut, Villeroy de Galhau says
Western ambassadors support independence of Ukrainian central bank as dispute continues
Diplomats line up behind Gontareva as the president’s attitude remains unclear
ECB’s economic bulletin paints mixed picture of eurozone investment
Business investment recovering overall but several factors may limit further growth, ECB says
Low rates and Solvency II raise ‘profound challenges’ for insurers – French governor
The move to unit-linked products is “not the only answer” to the need for diversification, de Galhau says; policy-makers must monitor the impact of the transition to Solvency II
Major economies show clear credit price cycles, researchers say
Housing markets are a key influence on credit prices cycles in the US and major European economies, an ECB paper argues
Tajikistan objects to Basel Institute’s anti-money-laundering criticisms
The Basel Institute’s grading of Tajikistan as the third-worst money laundering jurisdiction in the world is based on an “absolutely incorrect analysis”, the country’s central bank says
Bank of Italy paper aims to improve on EC current account model
Research offers a new model of external adjustment; the EC’s model tends to mis-state cyclically adjusted current account balances of large eurozone economies, researchers argue
Chinese law doubts holding back RMB internationalisation – paper
A Bank of Italy occasional paper plots the development of renminbi trading in Europe; future development may be characterised by rapid advances followed by slower periods, authors say
Ratings agency fined €1.38 million by Esma for regulatory breaches
The European Securities and Markets Authority fines Fitch for improper discussions of information and mishandling timing of Slovenia’s sovereign downgrade
EBA publishes first complete list of European O-SIIs
European Banking Authority publishes first full list of other systemically important institutions in Europe; some national supervisors make more use of discretion than others
French governor calls for ‘gradualism’ in fintech regulation
François Villeroy de Galhau sees merits in “proportionate adaptation” of regulations for fintech companies; other contributors to latest FSR argue in favour of same rules for same risks
Four largest eurozone economies show different reactions to monetary policy, paper finds
The economies of Germany, France, Italy and Spain show marked differences in responding to policy rate rises, researchers argue
Inflation expectations well-anchored, Richmond Fed president says
Lacker tells audience at Banque de France he believes expectations are anchored, despite drop in inflation compensation; Villeroy de Galhau notes drop in market-based measures in eurozone
Eurozone sovereign debt crisis has increased financial fragmentation, paper argues
Eurozone corporate bonds have different risk premia according to which country a company is headquartered in, paper argues; fragmentation has ‘dampened effectiveness’ of ECB policy
Banque de France governor wants public reforms
France must cut its public debt and reform its labour market, says Francois Villeroy de Galhau; the governor also calls for new investment products
Lagarde nominated for second term as IMF head
Christine Lagarde is backed by UK and Germany for a second term as managing director when her first expires in July; the International Monetary Fund launches the selection process
French governor weighs up ‘disruptive effects’ in card payments market
François Villeroy de Galhau discusses ‘main trends’ influencing card payments market, including ‘new solutions, new behaviours and players, new regulations’
Financial market risk being pushed into ETFs, Noyer warns
Central bankers must develop oversight of ETFs and similar securities, Noyer tells farewell seminar; must also convince markets and public of opposition to low inflation and deflation