Financial Stability
Bank of Portugal initiated administrative proceedings against 25 banks in 2014
Bank of Portugal also concluded 27 administrative offence proceedings during last year, applying fines worth around €0.5 million
Centralising supervision may trigger more integration, ECB paper finds
Working paper suggests centralising supervision could create the need for even more centralisation; calls for ‘perimeter of banks’ supervised by central authority to be flexible
PBoC chief economist dismisses talk of QE
Ma Jun addresses rumours central bank is looking to acquire municipal bonds as collateral in an LTRO-like move to lower financial risk and increase liquidity
Stevens cautious on bail-in efficacy
Reserve Bank of Australia governor says bail-in is subject to a ‘host’ of complexities that could mean it goes less smoothly in practice than regulators would like to believe
Greek municipalities’ union delays cash transfer to central bank
The Greek government will not be able to tap the municipalities’ funds to pay the IMF until their demands are approved in parliament
Emerging markets close in on Basel III completion
Latest Basel Committee progress report shows most jurisdictions have moved significantly closer to full Basel III implementation, with emerging markets making particularly rapid progress
Nouy sees banking union driving deeper integration
ECB report finds financial integration back to levels achieved before sovereign debt crisis; Danièle Nouy expects banking union to help create ‘deeper integration of a higher quality’
Nigeria central bank orders banks to disclose bad debtors
Banks in Nigeria will have to publish lists of ‘delinquent debtors’ starting May 1, in an attempt to battle the ‘rising trend of non-performing loans the industry’
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
Kuwait breaks new ground with regulatory data release
Central Bank of Kuwait releases quarterly ‘financial soundness’ indicators including capital adequacy and regulatory liquidity; few central banks release similar data at such high frequencies
BIS’s Hannoun backs central banks' right to surprise markets
Deputy general manager praises Swiss National Bank for issuing markets with a wake-up call, warning of the heavy cost associated with unconventional monetary policy
Fed updating supervisory guidance on community banks
A deputy director tells subcommittee in House of Representatives the Fed has ‘several efforts underway’ to provide regulatory relief for community banks
Interview: Manuel Sánchez on shifting financial stability risks
Bank of Mexico deputy governor speaks about monetary policy normalisation in the US, the limits of macro-prudential tools and developing capital markets
Bank of Portugal ‘unprecedented’ decision over BES split questioned in lawsuit
Central bank’s decision to remove a loan from Oak Finance to BES from the ‘good bank’ created in the wake of its failure is challenged in court by New Zealand Superannuation Fund
Iranian governor floats plan for new IMF training centre
Valiollah Seif puts plan for new Iran-based IMF regional training centre to Christine Lagarde; says inflation outlook has improved since president Hassan Rouhani took office
Draghi says ECB may have to reassess Greek emergency liquidity
ECB president says situation in Greece may force governing council to revisit the terms of emergency liquidity, as another round of negotiations breaks down
Central Bank of Bahrain upgrading market infrastructure
Central Bank of Bahrain is upgrading market infrastructure and enhancing supervision of listed companies, announces governor Rasheed Al Maraj
Sarb expands risk management framework
The risk management framework of the South African Reserve Bank now includes policy risks and will soon include financial stability policy, reveals deputy governor
‘Severe’ risks around lifting capital controls, Icelandic report warns
Financial stability report highlights need for careful preparation before capital controls can be lifted; governor says most expected capital movements have been ‘well mapped out’
Legal questions force Swedish FSA to scrap amortisation rule
Financial Supervisory Authority suspends its plan to force households to pay down their mortgages over time in response to doubts over its mandate; Ingves says policy still needed
Sánchez encourages ‘realistic’ expectations of macro-prudential tools
Bank of Mexico deputy governor considers effectiveness of macro-prudential tools and the potential unintended consequences at Central Banking training series
Glenn Stevens flags capital market risks
RBA governor says the growing role of asset managers and lower market liquidity are cause for concern; combined with cross-border capital flows, this could trigger an abrupt sell-off
Fed’s Claessens challenges banking Balkanisation theories
Theories emphasising the collapse in cross-border credit since the financial crisis fail to capture a ‘secular trend’ towards emerging markets, says Fed senior adviser
Economists split on reality of cross-border co-operation
Panelists at an event in London see continued obstacles to countries working together effectively during a crisis, although regional co-operation could be a partial solution