Financial Stability
BoE data shows Project Merlin on schedule to hit targets
Bank of England’s Trends in Lending shows UK’s five largest banks are on target to meet lending commitments under programme to boost UK financing to businesses
Argentina crisis lessons for Europe: CEPR paper
Centre for Economic Policy Research study says beleaguered eurozone countries can learn from Argentina’s financial crisis
Eurozone leaders hold emergency meeting in Cannes
Greek prime minister George Papandreou is summoned to Cannes for crisis talks ahead of G-20 meetings after receiving the backing of his cabinet to hold a referendum on the eurozone bailout
Risk USA: Regulators need to be wary of capital overshoot, says Roldán
Adding to Basel III capital levels might have unintended consequences, says former chair of Basel Committee’s standards implementation group
Netherlands takes on systemically important banks
Netherlands Bank expresses concern at exposure of Dutch banking sector to sovereign debt crisis; tells systemically important banks to begin preparations to raise capital and build recovery plans
Cleveland Fed paper outlines benefits of new early-warning system
Cleveland Federal Reserve study assesses latest model for developing early-warning systems to highlight build-up of systemic risk
IMF stresses importance of central banks’ role in macro-prudential policy use
IMF releases research into macro-prudental tools; stresses importance of central banks’ roles in using policy to fend off financial crises
Greece referendum puts eurozone rescue plan in jeopardy
Athens throws spanner in the works with the announcement of a referendum on the eurozone rescue package in January; parliamentary confidence vote also due on Friday
Bank of Canada inflation target mandate set to stay
Governor Mark Carney appears before House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance to explain research done on topic; finance minister confirms inflation targeting to stay
Jenkins calls for shift in bank profitability calculation
Newest Interim FPC member, Robert Jenkins, says banks “confuse” return on equity with shareholder value; calls for “clear-headed” dialogue on the “true cost of capital”
Treasury Committee releases terse correspondence with BoE Court
Chairman of the Treasury Select Committee releases correspondence with chairman of the Court of the Bank of England; shows strained relations over release of meeting minutes
Libyan treasure looted from commercial bank
Reports emerge from Libya's National Transitional Council that more than 7,000 coins were stolen from a commercial bank in Benghazi during conflict
Trichet says China funding request is right thing to do
Outgoing ECB president denies it is embarrassing or humbling for Europe to have to ask other countries for financial support; insists it is "absolutely normal" in today’s global world
SNB returns to profit with $19 billion gain
Swiss National Bank reports large profit for first three quarters of 2011 due to valuation gains in gold holdings and decline in foreign currency losses
UK mortgage lending slows: BoE data
Bank of England Trends in Lending shows mortgage lending by major UK lenders fell in September after strong growth in loan issuance during 2011
MAS’s Ong says insurance industry can aid growth
Monetary Authority of Singapore deputy managing director Ong Chong Tee says Asia’s growth prospects are at risk from events in developed countries
Hildebrand and Carney vie for FSB chair
Mario Draghi relinquishes role as head of the Financial Stability Board; race is on to claim the job
Thai banks to 'scale down' operations as floods hit Bangkok
Central bank tells financial institutions to “scale down” to only essential operations in order to safeguard employees; inflation report shows contraction in Thai economy this year
BIS reviews development of macroprudential toolkits
Bank for International Settlements progress report to G-20 says macroprudential framework needs appropriate tools to limit systemic risk; provides broad definition of macroprudential
Rule of thumb is inaccurate method to design reserves policy: IMF paper
Fund study says economic reforms are a more durable policy than international reserves at mitigating effects of external shocks
Cash is still king in low-value transactions: Bank of Canada paper
Bank of Canada study shows cash is still used intensively for low-value transactions due to its speed, merchant acceptance and low costs
FSB releases detail of enhanced shadow banking regulation
New report outlines approach to strengthen the oversight and regulation of the shadow banking system, details the proposed recommendations for intensifying monitoring and enhancing regulation
Iceland splits financial stability and payments department
Central Bank of Iceland splits financial stability and payments group into two distinct units to improve function; new director hired for financial stability department
Greek debt value halved after marathon EU discussions
New Europe crisis resolution deal brokered overnight in Belgium; EFSF extended, Greek debt cut, banks’ capital to rise and governance increased