Articles by Catherine Snowdon
Poland finalises Swiss currency swap agreement to protect banking sector
National Bank of Poland signs 'precautionary' currency swap deal with Swiss National Bank; in place to deal with liquidity pressures surrounding financing in Swiss francs
King laments growing problems in global economy
BoE governor says worsening situation in emerging economies, slowing US growth and continued eurozone trouble leave him “pessimistic”; Treasury Committee member confronts MPC over decision-making
ECB relaxes collateral eligibility rules
Broader range of lower quality assets now acceptable under ECB collateral rules; move should help Spanish banks after results of stress test reveal a potential €62 billion capital shortfall
Central Bank of Kuwait revamps bank governance rules
New rules make improvements to regulations in light of global financial crisis and recent issuances from Basel Committee and Financial Stability Board; effective date set for next year
BoE minutes show dovish shift
Minutes from Bank of England monetary policy committee’s latest meeting reveal governor Mervyn King voted for an increase to the asset purchase programme in the UK; lost out in narrow vote
Egyptian official recalls emergency planning during unrest
Manager of risk department at the Central Bank of Egypt describes what happened when social unrest took hold of the country; bankers decamped to a hotel in the suburbs to maintain services
UK credit and liquidity schemes met with uncertainty
BoE and government announce plans to improve credit and liquidity picture in UK; banks’ shares rise but questions remain on effectiveness of plans
Hildebrand settles at BlackRock
Former Swiss National Bank governor takes job as vice-chairman at BlackRock; joins in October to advise the firm’s largest institutional clients in the EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions
Bank of Uganda awaits confirmation of four board members
The terms of four out of six members of the Bank of Uganda’s Board expired in June; no word yet on replacements
New Bank of Spain governor named
Miguel Angel Fernandez Ordoñez’s successor is chosen; will assume the top role at the central bank on June 11
Czech National Bank shifts reserves away from euro
Annual report shows decision was taken to hold Australian dollars as part of foreign currency reserves; swapped part of euro holdings for the Australian currency
ECB denies it rejected Spanish recapitalisation plan
European Central Bank denies it has refused Spanish authorities’ plans to recapitalise a major bank in the country; European Commission discusses direct disbursement to banks from ESM
IMF calls for looser monetary policy in the UK
Latest Article IV review of UK urges further QE or a cut to policy rate; Fund calls on Bank of England to act to boost growth
BoE’s King says eurozone is ‘tearing itself apart’
Latest Inflation Report from the Bank of England lowers growth estimates for the economy; King says situation in eurozone continues to put pressure on the UK
ECB honours González-Páramo as police remove protestors
ECB holds event to celebrate work of José Manuel González-Páramo during his term as a member of the executive board on the same day a protest camp is cleared from outside the building
Bundesbank reveals location of gold holdings
German central bank says gold is held in four countries; kept in the vaults of the trading centres where transfers happened
JP Morgan loss flags shortcomings of Volcker rule
Questions raised after chief executive claims new regulation would not have prevented the risky trades that caused JP Morgan to lose $2 billion; first version of regulation may have, says Caprio
New Zambian banknotes will not feature a portrait
Bank of Zambia confirms rebased notes will not portray the image of any person; businesses urged to update systems ahead of changeover date
Riksbank unveils winner of new banknote design competition
Winner chosen in Riksbank's design competition for new Swedish banknotes; reverse of notes will feature images of geographic landmarks, including the bridge between Sweden and Denmark
Malawi president axes central bank governor
Joyce Banda selects chief executive of a telecoms company to head the central bank
IMF warns of 'full-blown panic' eurozone break-up would cause
Latest IMF World Economic Outlook discusses possibility of a break-up of the eurozone; says disorderly exit of one member country would have untold knock-on effects
PBoC decision to widen trading band welcomed
Chinese central bank announces “enlarged” floating band of renminbi trading prices against the US dollar; analysts and IMF welcome decision
Central Bank of Iceland conducts dawn raid on fishing company
Icelandic officials carry out searches of fishing company Samherji’s offices; company calls for explanation
BoE’s Fisher calls for central banks to bulk up risk management capabilities
Paul Fisher explains benefits of central banks doing independent credit assessment when evaluating collateral; says risk management functions need to be ‘bigger’ in central banks