Financial Stability
Highly indebted poorer households pose risk to Israeli banking system
Bank of Israel says lenders should look more carefully at ‘payment-to-income' ratio, which is highest for those households most exposed to macro- and micro-level economic shocks
Cut in capital requirements opens door for new UK banks
Regulators say efforts to lower barriers of entry for small banks, including lower capital requirements and easier application process, is spurring competition
Bad news in US and Europe calms emerging markets, says Banxico deputy
Market calm in EMs ‘seems to increase with bad news from the pace of recovery in advanced economies', says Manuel Sanchez
Ingves outvoted as Riksbank cuts 50bp
Swedish central bank hits zero lower bound for first time since 2010 as inflation plummets; outvoted Ingves says his standing is not weakened, calls housing situation ‘acute'
Yellen takes sides in ‘lean against the wind' debate
Federal Reserve chair says monetary policy faces ‘significant limitations as a tool to promote financial stability'; macro-prudential policies ‘far more direct' and effective
Zeti calls for governance overhaul at central banks
Bank Negara Malaysia governor Zeti Aziz says central banks need to understand ‘the new realities’ of crisis management; argues for new internal committees dedicated to the cause
MAS deputy reveals plans to tighten AML/CFT regime
Ong Chong Tee says Monetary Authority of Singapore will require banks to conduct wider assessments of money laundering and terrorism financing risks
Italian socialist tipped to lead ECB-watching Econ Committee
Roberto Gualtieri likely to be elected as chair of the Econ Committee next week in the European Parliament, making him the chief point of contact with the European Central Bank
ESRB publishes framework for calibrating CCBs
European Systemic Risk Board identifies the indicators EU member states should use when building, reducing and releasing their counter-cyclical capital buffers
Fed levies record fine on sanctions-busting BNP Paribas
The Fed's fine of $508 million is part of a massive $9 billion fine for the French-based banking group for dealing with Iran, Cuba and Sudan in violation of US sanctions
BIS's Caruana warns low interest rates are ‘self-validating'
Persistent low interest rates can become self-validating, BIS general manager Jaime Caruana warns, in annual speech in which he called for greater international co-ordination
Israeli banks' core capital ratio would fall to 7.5% in crisis, stress tests show
Banking system would show cumulative loss of three billion shekel, says Bank of Israel, but there would be 'no risk to stability'
BoE scraps 170-year old weekly balance sheet ‘snapshot' to hide emergency liquidity
Bank of England to remove data on emergency liquidity provision from weekly statement, in a step away from full transparency in the interest of financial stability
Bank of Canada may ‘expand’ payments oversight
Deputy governor Lawrence Schembri says the central bank might be charged with the oversight of ‘prominent’ payment systems as well as those that pose systemic risks
Bulgarian central bank calls for jail time after bank runs require emergency liquidity
Bulgarian National Bank says those destabilising the banking system should face jail; bank run met with emergency liquidity from the government
France and Luxembourg join race to become Europe's renminbi hub
France and Luxembourg next in line for clearing banks after striking deals with PBoC over the weekend; French institutional investors also granted permission to invest in China
BIS warns central banks to bite the bullet on monetary policy normalisation
BIS annual report says it may already be too late for a gradual exit from unconventional policy; warns markets may pre-empt exit if they feel central banks are behind the curve
RBI sees case for reviewing governance of public sector banks
Public sector banks continue to pose some of the ‘major challenges' facing the banking sectors, the Reserve Bank of India says
Tarullo says Fed must ‘hone' stress test regime
Fed governor says some firms still lack ‘reliable information' about their business exposures; hints at more attention to developing tests' macro-prudential elements
Lagarde says financial inclusion has key role in closing gender inequality gap
IMF managing director says women face extra cultural and educational hurdles in tapping into financial services, but financial inclusion can empower them
BoE introduces ‘ground-breaking' macro-pru measures to prevent housing bust
Mark Carney unveils a cap on high loan-to-income mortgages and affordability test; influential MP calls it a ‘major departure' for UK financial policy
Macro-pru beats monetary policy for open-economy financial stability
IMF working paper uses open economy framework to show macro-prudential policies are more welfare-enhancing than interest rate rises in seeing off over-exuberance
Zambia governor opens conference on financial inclusion for women
Michael Gondwe says deliberate policies and a long-term commitment will be needed to ensure financial inclusion for all Zambia's women
Riksbank brief: Virtual currencies 'essentially positive'
Digital money can make payments 'cheaper and more secure', argues staffer in economic commentary; risks mean virtual currencies should be assessed on a case-by-case basis