Financial Stability
Palestinian annual report highlights infrastructure progress
Palestine Monetary Authority details successful projects completed in 2012, including the introduction of the region's ‘most efficient’ RTGS system
Yen volatility drives record turnover, central bank surveys reveal
Volume was up across foreign exchange products in the UK and US in April 2013, with nearly $1 trillion traded daily in the US and more than $2.5 trillion in the UK
Slovenian stability review scolds ‘inactive and irresponsible' bank owners
Slovenian banks are squeezed by increasingly expensive wholesale funding and heavy exposure to an anaemic corporate sector, stoking fears of 'systemic risk' at the central bank
RBI deputy says improved governance standards ‘holy grail' in fight against fraud
While the number of reported frauds in India is coming down, the amount is growing as large-value, advance-related frauds are becoming increasingly common, notes Kamalesh Chandra Chakrabarty
Nigeria's financial system stable despite major challenges
A handful of lenders continue to dominate the country's banking industry, but asset quality and capitalisation levels ‘improved significantly' last year, according to the central bank's latest stability report
HKMA deputy says QE taper to bring ‘immense shocks' to markets
Eddie Yue slams advanced economies' ‘unprecedented' accommodative monetary policy for creating global imbalances and fuelling Hong Kong asset prices
Reserve Bank of Malawi paper finds central bank ‘leans against the wind'
Researchers from Malawi's central bank find interventions in the currency market have been associated with high volatility but have helped to stabilise the kwacha since 2003
MAS to lend Singapore dollars against JGBs
Monetary Authority of Singapore and Bank of Japan strike cross-border collateral arrangement; MAS looking to make it easier for banks to manage their liquidity needs
Hungarian paper breaks down components of finanical market indicators
Working paper presents a method for separating the global, regional and country-specific components in market indicators
Consumers' inferior bargain position ‘largest issue to be tackled'
RBI's Deepali Pant Joshi says financial crisis had ‘highlighted the importance of financial consumer protection for the long-term stability of the global financial system'
European Commission floats proposal to cap fees on credit card transactions
EC says retailers will make big savings by paying lower fees to their banks, and consumers will benefit through lower retail prices as a result of new regulation
Research investigates factors behind region-wide banking stability
New paper finds more competitive regional banking systems are less fragile; contagion is more dangerous when the host's banks are more liquid and better capitalised
UAE to mint more small coins - while Ireland starts phasing them out
The introduction of paid parking in shopping centres prompts coin shortage in the UAE; Ireland launches local pilot programme to round bills to the nearest five cents
Reserve Bank of India currency measures may have limited impact on rupee
Moves to halt falling rupee may have unintended consequences, according to rating agencies; volatility is expected to continue
Central Bank of Sri Lanka launches national electronic payments system
The scheme, which will allow customers to withdraw cash from any ATMs of participating banks, is similar to one announced by the Palestinian Monetary Authority earlier this month
BIS international banking stats show advanced and emerging market divergence
Claims on banks in advanced economies continued to fall in the first quarter of 2013, while in emerging markets they bounced back
Nalm Asia 2013: Asia ‘not shaken' by QE exit talk, says the Philippines' Tuano-Amador
A combination of macroeconomic and macro-prudential tools should enable policy-makers in Asia to deal with large fund flows linked to an end of quantitative easing, says Philippines assistant governor
Collateralisation of borrowing may reduce bank resolution costs
This ‘net benefit' should result in lower overall funding costs and thus a lower probability of distress despite increasing encumbrance of the bank's balance sheet, according to a recent IMF paper
Singapore brings inflation back in range, but household debt worries persist
Monetary Authority of Singapore warns a return to normal global monetary conditions will carry risks; says 'some' households will be at risk when interest rates rise as US tapers quantitative easing
Irish central bank waives €5 million penalty but faces legal action of its own
Central Bank of Ireland hands failed insurance company a reprieve ‘in public interest’; now being taken to court by family of the company’s former owner
Eurozone core ‘regain net influence’ over bond markets, finds Irish paper
Technical paper examines spillovers in the eurozone’s sovereign debt markets; finds the impact of stressed countries on the wider region has diminished
‘Surplus' countries must act to help limit external imbalances, says BIS paper
BIS economist Philip Turner says external imbalances can threaten financial stability in creditor countries as well as in debtor countries; calls it ‘an important but unresolved issue of international monetary reform'
IMF user guide takes stock of current toolkit for systemic risk monitoring
Paper provides guidance on selecting and interpreting monitoring tools; a continuously updated inventory of key categories of tools; and suggestions on how to carry out systemic risk monitoring
IMF ‘cookbook' paper outlines basic recipe for macro-pru policy
The paper provide new evidence on the effectiveness of different policy instruments using survey data