Bank of Korea (BoK)
Banking sector openness affects policy transmission, BoK paper finds
Bank of Korea study focuses on smaller open economies
Korea suffering from ‘missing inflation’ – deputy governor
Core inflation is still in the mid-1% range despite economic improvement
People: Trio of deputies appointed at Sri Lankan, Korean and Bahaman central banks
Veteran central bankers appointed at Sri Lankan and Korean institutions; Bank of Bahamas also gets new second in command
Korean governor outlines limitations of GDP as economic indicator
GDP does not “fully capture” income or wealth distribution; Lee Ju-yeol offers alternatives based on microdata and other macroeconomic indicators
Bank of Korea paper says digital currency will not displace hard cash
Digital currency could be used as a medium of exchange, but will not oust cash as a store of value, given the issues surrounding insurance and trust, authors of working paper find
Adopting inflation target can create higher inflation – paper
Bank of Korea working paper finds positive relationship between inflation target and inflation, implying some central banks may be tempted to move the goalposts
Bank of Korea embarks on ‘coinless society’ project
Central bank wants to eradicate use of coins by 2020; first stage of the project to use electronic travel passes to pay for goods and services
Emerging markets hit harder by US rate hikes than domestic policy – Bank of Korea paper
US rate hikes have a larger impact on growth and financial flows in emerging markets than changes in domestic policy, researchers find
Korea needs right kind of banking competition – quarterly bulletin
Competition can harm welfare if it is focused on gaining market share through a price war, authors say; Korean system may benefit from greater diversity
South Korean governor calls for international swap line expansion
Lee Juyeol welcomes improvements in financial safety nets at both global and regional levels, but suggests more co-operation is needed to ensure they expand further
Korea reveals organisational changes in annual report
Financial markets department established in 2015, alongside divisions dedicated to capital markets, monetary policy research and financial system analysis
Outflows during normalisation proportional to earlier inflows, paper warns
Working paper examines the effects unconventional monetary policies in advanced economies had on capital flows in emerging markets, and predict what is to come during normalisation
Korean paper explores ‘divergent’ spillovers to EMs
Macro-prudential policies key to protecting emerging markets from spillovers, research says; normalisation in the US could lead to ‘renewed tensions’
Bank of Korea to adopt 2% target from 2016
Central bank scraps its target range in favour of a fixed point; inflation rises to 1% but board expects it to ‘continue at a low level’ in coming months
Cycles in Korean unemployment explained ‘mostly’ by domestic shocks, paper finds
Working paper estimates a new Keynesian model with labour market frictions, designed to mirror the Korean economy, to study relationship between different shocks and dynamics
Eichengreen says central banks lack will not ability to tackle deflation
Central banks have the tools to deal with bad deflation if they are willing to act aggressively enough, economist argues; broadening asset purchases or helicopter money are both options
Asian central banks opt for different strategies in wake of China devaluation
Philippines and Korea hold fire on interest rates as currencies plunge while Taiwan looks for way to ease under the radar
BoK holds policy following RMB drop
Won bounces back from four-year low as Korean central bank keeps rates on hold following Chinese devaluation
Bank of Korea research tots up damage from capital flows
Researchers attempt to measure the impact of foreign financial flows on the real economy, finding the type of flow matters for growth, but all types increase volatility
Bank of Korea researchers dig into disaggregated data on inflation targeting
Adopting inflation targeting in Korea lowered the mean, volatility and persistence of inflation throughout the country, but a look at disaggregated data reveals more about transmission
Bank of Korea annual report sheds light on organisational shake-up
Central bank expanded research functions, improved communications, and established a ‘task force’ to examine the effectiveness of internal management in 2014
Korea introduces RMB discount window
Bank of Korea to launch emergency liquidity facility offering Chinese currency as part of broader infrastructure push aimed at bolstering Seoul's role as RMB hub
Governor wants freer thinking at 65-year-old Bank of Korea
Juyeol Lee hints at coming shake-up, calling for openness to ‘creative ideas’ as central bank prepares to set new inflation target