Financial Stability
Major international banks join UK's high-value payment system
BNY Mellon, ING Bank, Northern Trust, BNP Paribas and Société Générale have until now participated in Chaps indirectly, in an arrangement criticised by the Bank of England
RBA bulletin considers CCP resolution
Reserve Bank of Australia quarterly bulletin features an article on the recovery tools and resolution regimes that could be employed when central counterparties suffer losses
Two-thirds of US non-cash payments by card, but cheques persist
Payments by credit and debit cards grew nearly 8% annually between 2009 and 2012, according to new Fed data; 122.8 billion non-cash payments made in 2012, worth $79 trillion
Macedonian central bank launches financial literacy drive
Joint initiative with the government and other state agencies aims to improve understanding of, and involvement in, the financial system; agencies will also seek to promote cross-border co-operation
ECB unveils new Euro Retail Payments Board
New board will be the driving force behind retail payments integration in Europe; will replace the Sepa council and take a more proactive approach than its predecessor
Bank of England promises diversity on new polymer banknotes
Public consultation revealed 87% of Brits in favour of switching to polymer banknotes; Bank of England also unveils a new system for selecting historical characters to feature on its notes
Bank of Tanzania launches financial inclusion framework
East African country is aiming for 50% formal financial inclusion by 2016, up from 22% today; strategy will tackle supply side, demand side and structural obstacles
Liquid liabilities to become more expensive as a result of Basel III, says RBA's Debelle
New liquidity rules will make liabilities with less than 30 days to maturity more costly for banks to provide, making it a more expensive liquidity service for customers to obtain, says RBA assistant governor
FDIC's Hoenig says government backstops remain 'generous subsidy' for big banks
The competitive inequities that result from too big to fail remain mostly unaddressed, Hoenig says; calls for separation between commercial banks and broker-dealers
Government intervention shielded Korea from global credit crunch
Paper by Bank of Korea and IMF economists argues external buffers such as foreign reserves and swap agreements means the country is in good shape to weather global financial turmoil
Danièle Nouy confirmed as chair of SSM supervisory board
Top French supervisor formally appointed after ECB nomination and European Parliament approval; first job will be to agree on her deputy, to be chosen from ECB executive board
ECB launches online competition to familiarise citizens with new €10 banknote
Players have to uncover four security features and also guess the number of euro banknotes in circulation in the euro area on December 31, 2013; new note unveiled on January 13
Estonian governor says ECB supervision poses Nordic and Baltic challenge
The direct supervision of banks operating in the eurosystem but headquartered elsewhere will create 'new challenges' for Nordic and Baltic co-operation, according to Ardo Hansson
EBA warns of Bitcoin risks
European Banking Authority tells Bitcoin users to invest only what they can ‘afford to lose’ as not much can be done about exchange failures or digital theft
Rajan outlines medium-term 'pillars' for improving India's financial system
The five pillars comprise a 'clarified' monetary policy framework and a more liquid sovereign bond market; nation would 'benefit enormously' from the elimination of 'poorly targeted' subsidies
Slovenian banks need €4.8 billion cash injection, government says
Public bailout expected to raise public debt burden by 20 percentage points; country's three largest banks in particular dire straits, according to recently wrapped-up external asset quality review
EU bail-in to start two years early after Parliament and Council reach agreement
Bail-in rules, expected only from January 2018, will now enter force in January 2016; public bail-outs remain on the table as a last resort
Draghi says sovereign debt risk weights are a question for Basel Committee
Mario Draghi says it is up to the Basel Committee to assign different risk weights on sovereign debt ‘at the proper time’ and seeks to appease politicians' concerns over SME credit
Federal agencies finalise Volcker rule exceptions
The Federal Reserve, FDIC and other agencies agree on a final version of the Volcker rule to ban proprietary trading and investment fund activities, but with a series of exemptions
HKMA launches ‘hassle-free’ electronics payments platform
Hong Kong Monetary Authority says the platform will enable the general public to receive, manage and schedule electronic payments in three different currencies through one portal
IMF's Viñals says ESM should backstop ECB's comprehensive assessment
José Viñals says the European Stability Mechanism should be made available as a public backstop for the ECB’s forthcoming comprehensive assessment
Russian interbank market lacks discipline, Bofit paper finds
Investigation into levels of market discipline in the Russian interbank market finds some discipline was present during the financial crisis, but even then it was insufficient to curb risk-taking
Pakistan deputy wants new data protection laws for payments
Ashraf Mahmood Wathra welcomes the ‘innovative banking practices’ driving financial inclusion but says data protection must keep pace
Central Bank of Russia picks official rouble symbol
The Russian currency will now have an official symbol after an open design competition came down to a public vote between five designs