Articles by Central Banking Newsdesk
Cœuré and Dudley question case for policy co-ordination
ECB board member says central banks can ‘free themselves’ from influence of global financial cycle; NY Fed president says Fed should focus on promoting growth and stability in US
San Fran Fed president sees light at end of tunnel
John Williams says when short-term volatility is discounted, the US economy is nearing full employment, with an inflation trend running around 1.5%
RBNZ targets Auckland with new macro-prudential plans
Central bank wants to impose stricter macro-prudential rules on lending to property investors in Auckland; will also force banks to hold more capital against those loans from October
Greece talks more positive but time running out, says Varoufakis
Finance minister says Greece and its creditors are increasingly seeing eye-to-eye, but a deal is needed in the next ‘couple of weeks’; country manages to scrape together IMF repayment
Riksbank minutes reveal instability fears
Board members were unanimously in favour of further easing but ‘several’ voiced concerns about financial stability risks resulting from the expansionary policy
People: Sri Lanka and Paraguay name new board members
RA Jayatissa and Carlos Carballo Spalding join central bank boards in Sri Lanka and Paraguay respectively; UK firm VocaLink names new CRO
NY Fed’s McAndrews warns negative rates could drag inflation down
Director of research highlights some of the more radical unintended consequences that could stem from negative rates, including new forms of currency and inflation moving in unexpected directions
Bundesbank paper finds misbehaving banks increase volatility
Model of imperfect information shows output becomes more volatile when depositors cannot fully hold bankers to account
Plosser lays out four principles of sound central banking
Former president publishes a reflective essay in Philadelphia Fed’s annual report for 2014; advocates clear objectives, systematic rules, open communication and stable independence
Governments should work to promote ‘e-commerce’, UN report says
Research presented at the National Bank of the Republic of Macedonia outlines policies governments should pursue to harness the benefits of e-commerce
Malaysian deputy unveils ‘ink-staining’ technology for ATMs
Muhammad bin Ibrahim says ATMs have been ‘frequent target’ for criminals in recent years; new technology will stain notes with indelible ink if machine is being robbed
Colombian paper extends Bernanke research on asset price bubbles
Paper delivered at the BIS extends Bernanke and Gertler’s result that central banks should not lean against asset bubbles, finding the conclusion still holds in a small open economy
RBA paper builds new model of banks’ credit losses
Model draws on new dataset and focuses on interactions between portfolio-level and macro variables in attempt to explain historical bank credit losses in Australia
Chicago Fed research charts fall in natural rate of unemployment
Group of economists say an ageing population and rising education attainment could push the natural rate – currently at or below 5% – as low as 4.5% by 2020
Serbia cuts rate amid IMF call for action on debt overhang
National Bank of Serbia cuts rate for third straight month, as IMF warns dangers may lurk beneath robust overall debt position
PBoC cuts interest rates for third time since November
Central bank also lifts cap on deposit rates; moves will do little to stimulate growth amid property glut, analysts predict
BoJ paper finds QQE has not ‘significantly’ damaged bond market liquidity
Researchers compile set of liquidity indicators, finding that while government bond market liquidity has not declined significantly, it has been on a downward trend since easing was ramped up
Romania slashes inflation forecast with VAT cut on horizon
Latest forecast has inflation falling to 0.2% at the end of the year, before rising to 1.9% a year later; Central bank cut key rate by 25bp earlier this week
BIS research posits test for unsustainable credit growth
Authors link long-run credit growth with leverage and debt service ratio, proposing a model they claim would have helped predict the 2008 financial crisis three years before it struck
Jobs data recovers in the US as Dudley looks to help small businesses thrive
Non-farm payroll employment increases by 223,000 in April after a difficult March; NY Fed president considers how small businesses can access credit and expand
Malta names Alfred Mifsud as deputy governor
Former chairman of Crystal Finance Investments joins the central bank as a deputy governor; he will ‘primarily’ focus on monetary policy during his five-year term
St. Louis Fed paper considers impact of trade shocks on labour market
Working paper examines effects of trade shocks on labour markets, finding the increase in import competition from China after 2000 actually boosted aggregate US welfare
Hong Kong 'coin carts' rake in cash
Hong Kong Monetary Authority trucks will collect coins from the public; so far, 87,000 people have traded in 78 million coins worth HK$77 million
IMF paper finds no link between efficiency and Basel compliance
Banks in jurisdictions that have adopted Basel ‘Core Principles’ for supervision are no more efficient than their peers elsewhere, working paper finds