Central Banks
Good data vital for effective financial inclusion policies
With the World Bank soon to release the first update to its global financial inclusion database, Central Banking speaks to the Alliance for Financial Inclusion on the importance of good data
Riksbank: Economic activity in Sweden ‘at a standstill'
Central bank survey shows companies still being hampered by the slow recovery in Europe, leading them to try cutting costs to increase margins
Lagarde tells G-20 to act now and boost growth
IMF managing director warns that without action the ‘global economic supertanker’ could remain ‘stuck in the shallow waters of sub-par growth and meagre job creation’
People: IMF names new deputy; Brazil in line for two as well
Christine Lagarde wants to appoint an adviser of the Japanese government as deputy managing director; Brazil’s central bank governor proposes two new deputies in a reshuffle; and more
Chan welcomes code of conduct for Hong Kong bankers
HKMA chief executive praises stricter code of conduct, which seeks to improve banking culture, promote competition and protect consumers
Denmark cuts deposit rate for fourth time in three weeks
Governor Lars Rohde says central bank will defend peg to euro ‘for as long as it takes', adding there is ‘no upper limit' to FX reserves as key rate is cut to -0.75%
ECB publishes new economic bulletin
The first in the new series, introduced to ‘mirror’ new governing council meeting cycle, features an assessment of the Chinese economic outlook
Czech paper examines link between financial variables and macroeconomy
Financial variables ‘particularly relevant’ in explaining Czech macroeconomic developments in the lead-up to and during downturns, researchers find
Weidmann prescribes dose of discipline for eurozone
Bundesbank president says governments must accept liability for their own fiscal actions; sees no ‘urgent need’ for QE and warns of policy side effects
Ukrainian hryvnia drops 30% after central bank action
Currency in freefall after National Bank of Ukraine scraps subsidised forex auctions and simultaneously increases its key discount rate by 550bp
ECB’s collateral move adds pressure to Greek negotiations
Decision to cease accepting some Greek debt as collateral two weeks earlier than necessary turns banks toward ELA and adds pressure to political negotiations
Pakistan targets automated cash management in five years
State Bank of Pakistan aims to automate cash management and urges commercial banks to follow suit; deputy governor says it will help ensure only clean and genuine notes circulate
Meltzer accuses Fed of three ‘major’ errors
Writing in the Central Banking Journal, Allan Meltzer argues the Fed continued QE for too long, while relying too heavily on ‘noisy’ data and too little on monetary and credit aggregates
IMF: Pan-African banks pose oversight challenges
Report highlights need to reconcile regional and national interests in currency unions in the continent to ensure effective regulation and supervision
Wheeler: RBNZ will ‘talk more’ about housing
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand will focus on the market in coming months, Wheeler says, with house price inflation ‘increasing again’ in Auckland
Impact study postponed for Basel rate-risk project
An impact study for a Basel Committee proposal on the standardised regulation of banking book interest rate risk has been pushed back. Regulators blame the delay on banks' IT constraints
Bank of Estonia selling manor estate for €2m
Maardu Manor, which dates back to the fourteenth century, has been placed on the market after being deemed an unsuitable property for the central bank to own
PBoC takes action against tighter liquidity
Cut in reserve requirements seen as effort to ease liquidity due to lunar new year and capital outflows, but may do little more than offset a growing shortage
Curbs on rehypothecation may boost welfare, St Louis Fed paper finds
Researchers find rehypothecation boosts welfare, particularly as inflation rises, but it generally goes too far, implying there are benefits to regulatory intervention
BoJ’s Iwata says QQE is a break with history
Deputy governor says latest asset purchases programme a sign of dramatic ‘regime change’ and consumers will have to respond – it is just a question of when
Prasarn dismisses threat of deflation as headline rate goes negative
Thai governor pens letter to finance minister after headline inflation falls to -0.4% in January; IMF sees ‘scope for further easing' as two MPC members dissent on rate hold
BoE’s Kohn and Taylor foresee FPC divisions
Financial policy committee is likely to rely more heavily on voting in future, Donald Kohn and Martin Taylor tell MPs; Andrew Tyrie attacks accountability and calls for review
New York Fed unveils new way to calculate funds rate
Central bank plans to base the rate on a new dataset that captures a broader range of market activity; move likely to happen in about a year’s time