Financial Stability
Deutsche Bundesbank’s losing struggle in European integration battle
The Deutsche Bundesbank was once the cornerstone of European monetary stability but has become little more than a bargaining chip for politicians negotiating European integration.
Booknotes: Europe's Unfinished Currency
Mayer has grasped the essential truth about Europe’s single currency – that the project not only has an economic context but also an historical one and, above all, a political one.
Booknotes: The Ponzi Scheme Puzzle: A History and Analysis of Con Artists and Victims
Tamar Frankel offers us a colourful and broad picture of con artists who have initiated their own ‘Ponzi schemes’.
Central Bank of Ireland economist says monetary policy will not save euro
Lars Frisell suggests loosening monetary policy in the eurozone is unlikely to have much effect on the distressed periphery; instead advocates risk sharing through common deposit guarantees
National Bank of Slovakia backs controversial law
Slovakian central bank supports draft law to prohibit foreign bank branches from offering mortgage loans; questions over legality of law under EU treaty
The trade-off between bank regulation and economic growth
The pendulum has swung firmly in favour of financial services regulatory reform. But economic growth is likely to suffer – particularly in Europe – unless some of the rules are changed
Bretton Woods transcripts reveal global discord that still resonates today
In the first of three articles, Andrew Rosenberg discusses the issues that arose at the 1944 conference that continue to echo down through the years.
Collateral problems in the euro area
The euro area sovereign debt crisis has caused remarkable growth in the operations of the Eurosystem. It also led to diminished collateral availability.
Draghi delivers sermon on trust
European Central Bank president says trust is the key to mutual support, stronger collective responsibility and a deeper economic and political union
ECB paper seeks to balance the arguments of eurosceptics
Researcher says sovereign debt crisis should be seen as a mix of many harmful factors rather than one single problem; offers optimistic view on the prospects for recovery
Spanish governor unimpressed by banks’ capital requirement shortcut
Luis Linde unhappy that European banks have increased the CET1 ratios by deleveraging; concerned about impact of regulatory overhaul on credit and growth
New Zealand finance minister proposes new central bank toolkit
Bill English says new tools would allow RBNZ to manage excesses in credit cycles; emphasises credibility will hinge on continued central bank independence
Korean paper draws macro-prudential policy lessons from history of the 2000s
Working paper draws on Korea's experience of macro-prudential policies over the last decade, which failed to shield it from the impact of the global crisis
Czech National Bank enlists mobile app in fight against forgery
New mobile app to help Czechs check notes and coins for signs of forgery; counterfeit seizures continue downward trend
Byres hints at Basel Committee rethink on risk-weight modelling
Secretary-general weighs challenges of balancing complexity and simplicity of capital requirements; outlines possible changes to banks’ risk modelling choices
EC and FDIC team up to tackle G-sifi resolution
European Commission and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation establish working group to co-ordinate G-sifi resolution efforts
Weidmann says Europe does not revolve around Germany
Bundesbank president calls on co-ordination between Europe’s "heavyweights" to drive reforms and boost credibility of the EMU’s fiscal rules
Singapore aims to match Hong Kong with ‘good-as-new' new year banknotes
Singapore follows Hong Kong's lead in encouraging public to use 'good-as-new' banknotes for new year gifts
BoE’s Tucker urges careful consideration of negative interest rates
Paul Tucker encourages MPC discussion of alternative accommodative measures; expects existing QE to gain more traction as eurozone recovers
Carney says banks should follow the Canadian example in rebuilding trust
Bank of Canada chief says banks – at least those outside Canada – have a long way to go in rebuilding trust, but progress is being made
BIS paper urges policy-makers to consider co-ordinated bond strategy
Research finds effective response to a bond market crisis has become more difficult due to heavily laden central bank balance sheets, raising the need to better co-ordinate a crisis framework
Chan blames QE as HKMA raises macro-prudential defences
HKMA tightens macro-prudential rules applied to mortgage lending in face of emerging property market risks; Norman Chan says quantitative easing has created ‘extremely unusual’ conditions
Fed’s Powell and Rosengren hit back at ‘fiscal crunch’ research paper
Research suggests Fed is constrained by precarious US finances, but Fed governor and president offer alternative conclusions
BoJ paper quantifies benefits of liquidity-saving measures in RTGS
Working paper finds introduction of liquidity-saving features in Japan’s real-time gross settlement system has saved trillions of yen; urges vigilance as monetary easing is withdrawn