Financial Stability
ECB - Monthly Bulletin (December)
European Central Bank’s December 2010 bulletin shows recovery of Central and Eastern Europe has been hampered by macroeconomic imbalances
IMF: global stock markets sensitive to US monetary policy shocks
Fund study finds strong relationship between global stock prices and US monetary policy
Electronic methods leading growth of cashless payments in the US, says Fed study
Federal Reserve study shows number of cashless payments has grown, with debit card, automated clearinghouse transactions leading the way
Britain raises bank levy
UK government publishes final bank tax law that will raise the levy on liabilities higher than initial proposals set out in June
Atlanta Fed names new second in command
Retirement of Atlanta Federal Reserve first vice-president Patrick Barron sparks reshuffle in retail payments office
Fitch kicks three more notches off Ireland
Irish sovereign debt downgraded to BBB+ by ratings agency Fitch
RBA's Lowe: households optimistic over future
Reserve Bank of Australia assistant governor Philip Lowe says households' confidence in Australia remains strong despite weak balance sheets
ECB's Constâncio heralds dawn of Seoul consensus
European Central Bank’s Vítor Constâncio says state intervention during banking crisis marked end of Washington consensus; vice president heralds dawn of Seoul consensus
CDSs did not hike eurozone states’ funding costs: European Commission report
European Commission taskforce finds credit default swaps were not responsible for inflating eurozone members’ funding costs, worsening crisis
Canada closes part of currency unit
Bank of Canada agrees to sell assets from optical security material division to banknote security supplier Fortress Optical Features
BIS: access to CDS markets reduces debt financing in Asia
Bank for International Settlements study shows credit default swap trading lowers bond issuance costs
Spain’s banking sector different from Ireland: Ariztegui
Bank of Spain deputy governor Javier Ariztegui says Spanish banking sector faces different challenges than seen in Ireland
CentralBanking.com panel: how pressing is the need for bank resolution regimes?
Commentators disagree on how urgently resolution regimes must be established; point to obstacles in crafting cross-border rules
CoCos offer banks more hope than bail-in: CentralBanking.com panel
Contingent capital’s earlier trigger will set in before banks are on the brink of resolution, say panellists; reject narrow banking thesis
Hungary discontinues bond purchasing scheme
National Bank of Hungary to discontinue mortgage bond purchase scheme next year; says programme only managed to reduce liquidity premia on domestic bonds to small extent
Policy centralisation key to future of Eurozone, says Goldman’s O’Neill
Success or failure of the Eurozone hinges on Germany ‘laying down the law’, according to chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management.
BoE: seniority claims good indicator of default
Bank of England study shows claims by senior debt holders a good measure of future default risk
Riksbank’s Nyberg challenges Svensson over monetary policy framework
Riksbank deputy governor Lars Nyberg says monetary policy must support macroprudential policy; comments contrast with Svensson’s calls for monetary policy to focus on price stability
De La Rue shares soar on Oberthur takeover bid
Banknote printer De La Rue confirms preliminary takeover bid has been made; French firm Oberthur Technologies behind the move
Sarb refutes faulty rand note claims
South African Reserve Bank says it has full confidence in currency after media reports of flawed batches of R100 notes; issue surfaces ahead of first general meeting under new central bank law
Merkel enraged at vote to scrap US-EU Swift data deal: WikiLeak
Leaked wire from US embassy in Berlin says Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel was furious at German MEPs' decision to reject Swift data sharing deal with United States
Market for CoCos could take years to develop, say Credit Institute panellists
Regulators may be sold on banks issuing loss-absorbing contingent convertible securities, but panellists at Credit Institute event question whether natural investor base for instruments exists
Countercyclical measures key to stemming Indian inflows: Strauss-Kahn
IMF managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn says adoption of countercyclical macroprudential measures eased capital inflows to India
Supervision of Israel’s housing market paramount: Fischer
Bank of Israel governor Stanley Fischer warns against complacency in supervision of mortgage-lending industry in Israel