Financial Stability
European finance sector needs complete overhaul, says ECB's Praet
Executive board member says Europe's financial sector must be overhauled in 'its entirety' not through ‘selective mending'; warns of Japanese-style zombie banks undercutting return to growth
Norges Bank handed advisory role on macro-prudential policy
Norwegian central bank will advise the ministry of finance on whether it should impose a countercyclical capital buffer and, if so, what size it should be
BoE prepares to implement Banking Standards recommendations
Response to final report of the UK’s Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards endorses the majority of the findings, although many points require further consultation
Fed's Stein seeks right regulatory mix on fire-sales for SFTs
Fed governor Jeremy Stein calls for new mix of rules to ensure ‘fire sale’ of securities financing transactions work at the system-wide level
Kocherlakota urges Fed to do ‘whatever it takes’ to boost labour market
Persistently low inflation means the Federal Reserve can throw all its resources behind the fledgling labour market recovery, according to the Minneapolis Fed president
Maltese politicians clash over new deputy governor appointment
Move to appoint a deputy governor in charge of financial stability at the Central Bank of Malta led to opposition accusations of politicisation
Fijian governor foreshadows application of mobile payments in agriculture
Barry Whiteside says mobile banking is fast becoming an ‘accepted mode of payment’ and has the ability to transform Fiji’s agricultural sector
Hungarian central bank takes over financial stability role under new deputy governor
László Windisch will be in charge of financial stability, as former financial services authority is brought inside the central bank
Bank of Lebanon signs memorandum of understanding with Dubai FSA
Agreement aimed at improving information sharing on financial stability issues was signed by regulators in Dubai earlier this week
Wheeler shines a spotlight on housing supply
Reserve Bank of New Zealand governor Graeme Wheeler says restrictions on high loan-to-value mortgages will alleviate house price increases, but the bigger issue is housing supply
National Bank of Denmark governor highlights housing concerns
Lars Rohde says investor confidence in the creditworthiness and liquidity of mortgage bonds is ‘at the core' of the Danish mortgage credit system
Basel III requirements could clash with new bail-in rules, warns IMF
Increased pressure on banks to rely more heavily on collateralised debt could combine with ‘depositor preference' rules to raise funding costs at a time when credit conditions remain tight
UK prepares for mobile payment apps
The Payments Council is launching a new mobile payments platform in the UK in 2014, and seminar participants discussed the challenges it will face
Banknotes worth $2m stolen from Swiss printer
Investigation under way into theft of incomplete Sfr1,000 notes that subsequently entered circulation as counterfeits
Bank of England proposes new stress test regime
Deputy governor Paul Tucker says new framework will boost confidence in the UK financial system and help ensure the Bank is publicly accountable for its financial stability operations
BoE's financial policy committee publishes latest minutes
UK macro-prudential regulator says it will prioritise medium-term capital framework for banks, ending ‘too big to fail', and transform shadow banking
ECB research examines ‘inverted V’ yields around bond auctions
Working paper finds yields spiked around auctions during crisis-hit Italian bond issues, creating additional costs for the government that Germany did not face
Italian deputy warns of political pressure on central banks
Salvatore Rossi says central banks’ increasing responsibility for financial stability makes them a ‘perfect target’ for both lobbyists and politicians
IMF warns Italian financial sector is ‘not out of danger'
Assessment finds Italian financial sector to have shown ‘remarkable' resilience, but slender profit margins and worsening loan quality have led to ‘pockets of vulnerability'
HKMA reviews progress on global financial regulation
Bulletin article outlines the stabilisation options that member jurisdictions should have access to in the event that a too-big-to-fail bank does just that
UK ‘Help to Buy' brought forward as data show housing market hotting up
Data out today show some UK housing indicators are back at pre-crisis levels; financial policy committee minutes are due out tomorrow, as government doubles down on ‘Help to Buy' scheme
IMF proposes automatic stabilisers to guard against hot money flows
World Economic Outlook suggests countries can shield themselves from instability caused by volatile capital flows if they foster an environment allowing residents to easily invest overseas
RBNZ rings changes in policy frameworks
Annual report highlights changes in how Reserve Bank of New Zealand is organised, the way in which it formulates policy and the tools at its disposal
ECB’s Cœuré warns impact of bail-ins still unclear
Executive board member says effects on bank funding and lending depend on final design of bail-in regime and interaction with other regulation