Financial Stability
Israeli annual report for bank customers could be first step to reduce transparency 'knowledge gap'
Bank of Israel supervisor pushes for banks to provide customers with tailored yearly reports; UK consultancy says future lies in 'single online portal' for all financial products
OECD’s White says ECB supervision is back to front
William White says ECB should be managing the current crisis rather than trying to prevent the next one; warns that the global economy remains vulnerable, partly because of central bank actions
ECB gives Nouy the nod for SSM chair, but Mersch is no 'shoo-in' for deputy
ECB nominates top French regulator to head up SSM; responds to concerns that key decisions will be taken before chair is in place, but Sharon Bowles says questions remain for Draghi
Currency peg speculation can 'damage' balance sheets
Researchers find that questions over the credibility of a currency peg can have ‘damaging effects’ on bank balance sheets – consistent with monetary mismatch theory
ECB launches public consultation on mobile payments security recommendations
The governing council of the ECB asks market participants to comment on draft recommendations intended to make mobile payments more secure; interested parties have until January 31 to weigh in
BoE paper proposes new sovereign debt instruments
Economists from the UK and Canadian central banks says that sovereign cocos and GDP-linked bonds could help reduce the likelihood of liquidity and solvency crises
Caruana flags evidence of ‘manifold’ QE spillovers
BIS general manager presents evidence of varied spillovers from advanced economies' monetary policy; says policy-makers should do more to take them into account
Brazil’s Tombini says ‘we still do not fully understand’ macro-prudential tools
Governor of the Central Bank of Brazil warns that limited understanding of new policies presents ‘significant communication challenges’ for central banks
Malaysia central bank opens office in Beijing
BNM's newly established presence reflects growing trade and financial ties with China; governor also reveals new renminbi liquidity facility and MoU to establish cross-border collateral arrangements
Emerging markets will 'suffer' as QE ends, say panellists
Guillermo Calvo, Vittorio Corbo and Maurice Obstfeld say emerging markets face a bumpy landing when Fed winds down QE, and some are better prepared than others
Bank of England points to growing concern over low rates
Market participants say the risks surrounding low interest rates are now the third biggest cause for concern in the UK financial system, behind sovereign risk and the prospect of an economic downturn
Belgian paper warns central bank policies could worsen financial shocks
Working paper studies optimal monetary policy configurations for price and financial stability in Eastern Europe; finds central banks may worsen credit shocks by taking action against them
OECD’s William White fears global economic system is still highly unstable
William White tells Christopher Jeffery he is wary of placing too much reliance on the ‘science’ of monetary or regulatory policy. He also believes the world economic system is still out of balance
BoE economists build model to assess CCP backstop
Bank of England financial stability paper presents a ‘top-down’ statistical model for assessing the risk CCPs are exposed to, and the likely adequacy of their default resources
Moody's says big US banks no longer ‘too big to fail'
Agency cuts ratings of four systemically important US banks, including Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan, as Dodd-Frank believed to reduce prospects of future government bailouts
ECB's Mersch touts securitisation of SME loans as way of boosting EU economy
Executive board member says second priority after assessing banks' balance sheets is to support lending to SMEs by strengthening capital markets
Banks respond differently to capital target deviations, ECB paper shows
Working paper finds banks tend to reshuffle risk-weighted assets or increase holdings when above Tier I ratio, but more inclined to increase equity levels when below target
Bank of Spain deputy on what banking union will mean for national lenders
Spanish banking system will not face more complex challenges than those posed in other jurisdictions, says Fernando Restroy; capital levels for sector as a whole will be above 10% by year's end
SEE region must face financial challenges together, says Macedonia deputy
Macedonia's financial system, like others in the region, has suffered thanks to international regulation leading local subsidiaries of European banks to deleverage in southeast Europe
Bundesbank warns on ‘moral hazard' from low interest rate environment
Bundesbank's latest annual financial stability report fears insurance companies and banks are losing out in the low interest rate environment; deputy says ‘primary law' must change for SRM to work
Leaning against the wind does more harm than good, warns Svensson
Former Riksbank deputy Lars Svensson argues higher interest rates to combat asset bubbles and financial instability have the opposite effect by raising the real debt burden of households