Financial Stability
IMF paper explores link between low interest rates and bank risk-taking
Working paper finds banks take more risks in low short-term interest rate environment; more so if they are well capitalised
Subbarao criticises plans to expand powers of regulatory supergroup
Reserve Bank of India governor Duvvuri Subbarao speaks out against plans to give Financial Stability and Development Council responsibility for regulating systemic risk
Fed’s Raskin warns of shortcomings in leverage ratio
Sarah Bloom Raskin says a leverage ratio can guard against the failings of risk-weighted capital requirements, but cautions that the ratio has issues of its own
IMF paper says direct eurozone spillovers limited to US and UK banks
Working paper analyses effects of eurozone crisis at bank level; finds direct impact limited to UK and US though other regions could be susceptible to knock-on effects
Financial exclusion in Europe driven by move away from cash, study finds
New report from Brussels-based pressure group finds financial exclusion is a growing phenomenon as cash falls out of favour for everyday transactions
Bank of England annual report redefines financial stability
BoE annual report reveals change in interpretation of financial stability; central bank must maintain ‘efficient flow of funds' in the economy and ‘confidence in financial intermediaries'
Riksbank predicts ‘elimination’ of retail payments competition
Sweden’s retail payments market is expanding but Sveriges Riksbank says larger players will prevail and smaller companies ‘will be eliminated’
RBA research analyses factors driving US credit crunch
Working paper finds shutdown of the securitisation market explains a ‘significant share’ of the credit tightening in the US in the run-up to the global financial crisis
Fischer gives high marks to Bernanke and Draghi
Outgoing Bank of Israel governor Stanley Fischer believes the world owes a great debt to Fed chairman Ben Bernanke and praises ECB president Mario Draghi; says Israel can live with side effects of QE
Bank of Israel’s outgoing chief, Stanley Fischer, on the challenges of central banking
Stanley Fischer believes his work as governor of the Bank of Israel is done. He tells Chris Jeffery about the reform process in Israel as well as the challenges facing the world economy and the IMF
Colombian paper draws policy lessons from credit- and business-cycle links
Researchers find lagged response of growth to the credit cycle, making it challenging for policy-makers to target both financial and real variables with a single instrument
Croatian governor cautious over banking union
Boris Vujčić says Croatia will adopt the euro "as soon as possible" after it joins the European Union next month; raises concerns over banking union and ECB’s lack of supervisory experience
Fischer urges peace in the Middle East
Bank of Israel governor Stanley Fischer tells state finance committee to find ‘partners for peace’; endorses high defence spending in state budget
Pianalto says financial regulation should learn from monetary policy transparency
Financial regulation can benefit in the same way as monetary policy has from transparency and forward guidance, says Cleveland Fed president Sandra Pianalto
IMF prescribes faster eurozone progress for both Spain and Germany
IMF teams report progress being made in both Spain and Germany, though sluggish progress on banking union could stop both economies from bouncing back more quickly
ECB's Cœuré says international liquidity must be allowed to flow
The risks from financial protectionism outweigh those of negative spillovers that currently dominate the global debate, argues ECB executive board member Benoît Cœuré
Fed’s Yellen moots higher capital requirements for US banks
Janet Yellen says Basel III capital requirements may not be enough to end the too-big-to-fail problem; sizes up risk in the shadow-banking sector
EC recognises member state fears that FTT will hurt clearing
Tax liability could send CCPs "directly into insolvency" warn Czech officials in leaked document
IMF paper proposes ‘more ambitious’ benchmark design
Working paper calls current benchmark designs ‘a legacy from history’; proposes own design to better represent actual wholesale funding costs
Vietnam bad bank to stimulate growth in NPL-ridden banking sector
Vietnam central bank aims to put banking sector on a stable footing to support growth, by taking non-performing loans into state-run 'bad bank'
Colombian governor warns Latin America could be hit hard by end of US QE
José Darío Uribe says past instances of monetary policy tightening in the US have caused crises in Latin America, but argues the region is better prepared this time around
UK consumers drop cash in move towards mobile payments
British Retail Consortium says cash usage fell sharply last year, while research by VocaLink finds a strong uptake of mobile payments by consumers, though retail payments are still dominated by cash
ECB links ‘fragile’ financial stability to weak macroeconomy
Latest financial stability review says stress has ‘fallen markedly’ but vulnerabilities persist; ECB is most concerned about the impact of a further decline in bank profitability
RBNZ could ‘scale up’ forex intervention
Reserve Bank of New Zealand governor Graeme Wheeler signals willingness to sell more NZ dollars to combat currency appreciation; house price increases put central bank in policy ‘bind’