National Bank of Belgium
Luc Coene, 1947–2017
Former Belgian central bank governor also had significant political career
Belgian paper studies work of pioneer of regional economics
Robert Triffin was the “architect” of the European Payments Union
Paper outlines methods for creating country-specific banking crisis prediction models
Working paper tests models with country-specific and state-dependent parameters on a sample of 14 European countries; approach out-performs traditional early-warning models, researchers argue
ESRB recommends EU states reciprocate Estonian capital buffer
European Systemic Risk Board’s recommendation is only second time it has suggested regulators should reciprocally adopt a new macro-prudential measure
EBA does not object to further macro-prudential measures for Belgian banks
The European Banking Authority clears the way for Belgium’s central bank to tighten macro-prudential measures affecting housing exposures; calls for changes in regulatory framework
National Bank of Belgium sees deposit guarantee scheme as ‘missing component’
Central bank says a joint scheme is the ‘missing component’ of banking union, but argues risk-sharing must be accompanied by better risk control
National Bank of Belgium closes scientific library
The National Bank of Belgium will close its research library in Brussels in March; diminished need for the facility due to more widespread access to electronic resources, bank says
Eurozone macro-prudential policy should be ‘streamlined’, says Belgian director
Mathias Dewatripont praises shared responsibility as a ‘clever idea’ at ECB forum, but acknowledges this ‘leads to some complex procedures’
Belgian paper explores link between monetary policy and risk-taking
Model suggests central banks should stabilise the path of the real interest rate more when there is a ‘risk-taking channel’ of monetary policy, to help reduce ‘welfare detrimental fluctuations’
Belgian paper examines ‘crisis-proof’ services
Working paper finds ‘significant’ differences between the elasticity of goods exports and services exports with respect to GDP growth during the crisis
Eurozone moving towards ‘single market for collateral’, say central bankers
Panellists from Belgian, French and Dutch central banks discuss moves towards harmonised collateral markets in Europe at conference in Brussels
People: Malaysia appoints assistant governor; BoJ board member approved
Bank Negara Malaysia names Mohd Adhari Belal Din as assistant governor, while Marzunisham Omar takes office at the IMF; Japanese government approves Yutaka Harada as BoJ board member
Belgian central bank embraces responsive design with new website
National Bank of Belgium launches new website with cleaner design and upgrades its statistical database, while wider central banking community look to improve online presence
Constâncio tells national supervisors to ‘recognise and reciprocate’ regulatory measures
ECB vice-president suggests ‘automatic and mandatory reciprocity’ would benefit a range of macro-prudential measures in the eurozone; only one case of voluntary action to date
Outgoing Belgian governor takes ECB role
Luc Coene named as one of four ECB representatives on the SSM supervisory board, a role he will start after stepping down as National Bank of Belgium governor next month
Belgian research examines policy response to oil price shocks
To curb the wealth-shifting effect of oil price shocks ‘optimal policy calls for a large but short-lived increase in the real interest rate’
Belgian paper examines impact of unit labour costs on exports
Working paper results imply a 10% increase in unit labour costs leads to drop in exports of between 2% and 4%, based on data from 1999 to 2010
Impact of ECB unconventional policies depends on bank capitalisation, finds Belgian paper
ECB crisis measures have greater impact on GDP growth in countries where banks are well capitalised, researchers find
Belgian review: Common debt will remain ‘taboo’ in Europe
Article published in National Bank of Belgium economic review describes the issuance of common debt as a ‘panacea’ for multiple problems in the eurozone
National Bank of Belgium to close half its remaining branches
Belgian central bank reveals plans to close its branches in Mons and Hasselt in 2016, which are predominantly involved in processing cash
Review finds Belgian CPI still ‘diverges’ from HICP
National Bank of Belgium’s latest economic review analyses the recent changes in the methodology underpinning CPI, and demonstrates why it remains different from HICP
Belgians call for ‘strong co-ordination’ to hold EU prudential regime together
Article in National Bank of Belgium's financial stability review evaluates the institutional structures that will influence macro-prudential policy in Europe
People: Dewatripont is new Belgian no.2; RBA appoints new economics research head
Mathias Dewatripont replaces Françoise Masai as vice-governor of the National Bank of Belgium; RBA promotes Alexandra Heath as Jonathan Kearns heads for the BIS; and more
Monetary and macro-prudential co-ordination works well when pulling in same direction
Monetary and macro-prudential policy co-ordination brings benefits when they are both aiming at the output gap, but not when the regulator emphasises financial stability