Articles by Central Banking Newsdesk
NPLs down overall but progress is uneven – Kuwaiti report
Kuwaiti banks’ non-performing loans fell in aggregate in 2015 though they are on the rise in the household sector; banks well capitalised but asset growth slowing, financial stability report finds
CPMI digs into data on correspondent banking pull-back
Study based on Swift data and banking interviews sheds light on uneven pace of decline in correspondent banking; CPMI offers recommendations to help reverse direction of travel
ECB paper presents ‘news’ and ‘noise’ model of US housing market
A new model of the US property market differentiates between “news and noise shocks”; latter can have significant effects and policy-makers should consider pro-cyclical property taxes, author says
Inflation expectations shaped by different forces in short and long term – BoE research
UK households are influenced by perceptions of actual inflation, but other factors grow in importance in the longer run, quarterly bulletin article finds
Swift brings in external firms to support security work
UK firm BAE Systems and Dutch company Fox-IT will be part of effort to strengthen cyber security; Swift says information-sharing initiative has “grown significantly” since launch
IMF staff propose additional reforms to Italian banking sector
Directors at the fund “commend” the Italian authorities for reforms so far, while staff suggest a range of additional measures to tackle issues around resolution and NPLs
EBA says number of women in senior positions at European banks is ‘very low’
EBA says most European banks lack diversity policies for senior management despite legal requirements; senior managers are more diverse by age but not by “geographical provenance”
Banks coping with tougher environment – Omani stress tests
Central bank’s latest financial stability report says banks are well placed to weather shocks, as it builds regulatory capabilities and early warning indicators
RBNZ bulletin shines light on policy-making process
Article reveals details of how central bank reaches monetary policy decisions over a nine-day period, from information-gathering and modelling to deliberation and communication
Mexican deputy calls for reinforced ‘global financial safety net’
Javier Guzmán Calafell sees IMF as key player in maintaining global financial stability, but says it needs more resources, tools and legitimacy
Latvian central bank becomes lead authority on counterfeiting
New anti-counterfeiting centre will take over from police the task of detecting fake currency in all currencies; new approach will be more efficient and will not need more resources, bank says
Orphanides: governments should rein in ‘immense power’ of central banks
Central bank balance sheets give them power to dramatically affect the distribution of wealth, undermining democracy, former Central Bank of Cyprus governor argues
Basel Committee scales back risk weights in revised securitisation standard
Tighter definition of what counts as a “simple, transparent and comparable” securitisation gives room to allow “modest” reduction in capital requirements, committee says
Model-based regulation in Germany had unintended consequences, researchers say
The move to model-based banking regulation in Germany studied in working paper; loan default and loss rates rose for loans created under new regime
Network analysis sheds light on systemic risk – BoE paper
Pilot study of derivatives markets makes use of CDS data to map network of interlinkages, finding more than just immediate counterparty ties matter for systemic risk
PBoC’s Zhang Tao picked as IMF deputy
Christine Lagarde proposes appointment of Zhang Tao as deputy managing director; he is a former IMF official who has held a variety of roles at the central bank
EBA survey: Most European banks did not see Brexit as risk
European banks anticipated increasing most kinds of loan activity, results of an EBA questionnaire show; few bankers saw ‘Brexit’ as a major source of risk
Iceland’s new macroeconomic council faces up to wage challenges
Collaboration between government, central bank and labour market groups aims to bring bouts of rapid wage growth under control and better co-ordinate policy
IMF staff suggest using tiers if CNB cuts rates below zero
Fund encourages Czech National Bank to prepare for ‘eventual exit’ from exchange rate commitment; suggests negative rates are viable tool but could damage bank profitability
IMF paper explores impact of financial development on wealth dispersion
Authors focus on China between 1995 and 2002; suggest lower access barriers and a deeper market can “greatly improve” welfare
People: Hungarian board member takes government post; new RBI executive director
Member of Central Bank of Hungary’s monetary council resigns to take government role; RBI chooses new executive director; Icelandic head of financial stability moves to Yale; and more
Balance sheet policy matters for credibility – Norges Bank paper
Researcher argues a central bank’s financial strength may affect its ability to meet its monetary policy mandate, based on evidence from the UK’s gold standard period
Nouy sees need for rethink of reporting systems
Danièle Nouy says new thinking is needed to help banks and supervisors deal with a ‘paradigm shift’ in data collection; European reporting framework for all banks should be considered
Sarb faces tough job amid ‘sobering’ outlook, IMF warns
Capital flows, sovereign rating and financial sector health form dangerous links, fund says, though South African authorities stress they have made preparations