Financial Stability
HKMA tightens restrictions on bank loans as risks rise
The city’s de facto central bank is trying to contain credit risk among banks as their exposure to housing developers is growing
Banks mull dedicated IFRS 9 capital buffers
Volatility of loan-loss provisioning from new accounting standard demands additional own-funds protection, say banks
Digital currency could remove need for positive inflation target, economists argue
Proposed digital framework eliminates the need for “inflation buffer” and promotes transparency of the balance sheet
LTV ratio more effective than DTS in Canada – BIS paper
Paper examines the effect of recent macro-prudential policies targeting the housing market, finding households will borrow more if they can
FSB’s Mena group meets in Abu Dhabi
Turkish and Qatari governors are set to chair the regional group from June 30
Dombret defends SSM as a ‘supervisory framework’
Bundesbank board member acknowledges there are issues, including communication, with the SSM and suggests targeting language barriers to reduce “home bias”
ECB sets out standards for bank board members
New guidelines are an effort to harmonise standards across eurozone states
Let the market regulate banks – FDIC’s Hoenig
Vice-chairman offers proposal that would take an axe to risk-based capital, stress testing and parts of the Volcker rule
Protectionism is a ‘dead end’, says New York Fed president
Dudley highlights the second-round impact of protectionism, which ultimately harms higher-paying jobs; policies should foster competition and provide more assistance to workers
BIS paper says macro-pru is better when partnered with monetary policy
Macro-pru does not work as well when it acts as a substitute for monetary policy when dampening credit cycles; when deployed as the main instrument, policies prove very successful even in the short term
Eiopa to revisit standard formula calibrations in ‘recurring exercise’
Authority considering periodical reviews to preserve Solvency II’s risk sensitivity
New York Fed legal vice-president challenges ‘check the box’ mentality
If a compliance regime does not accept blame or responsibility, then it has failed says Held; regimes should not be afraid to uncover problematic behaviour
Ukraine’s Gontareva on one of the toughest jobs in central banking
The outgoing National Bank of Ukraine governor speaks about transforming the central bank while engaging in wartime deficit funding and overhauling the banking sector
Europe needs reform, Draghi says
ECB president repeats call for European deposit insurance scheme
French regulator lays out plan to capture London euro clearing
AMF calls for equivalence to be scrapped for biggest CCPs and trade repositories
IMF urges new macro-pru tools for RBNZ to tackle housing market
Debt-to-income tools would complement existing macro-prudential toolkit and help rein in household credit, fund says; RBNZ in pursuit of such powers but decision must come from government
Kashkari has inflation concerns about bitcoin
The potential of digital currencies lies with underlying infrastructure, Minneapolis Fed president says; the Fed is “paying attention” to the issue
Growth of shadow banks led by risky investment vehicles – FSB
Shadow banks continue to gain ground, with those offering liquidity and maturity transformation showing some of the fastest growth
Bank of Italy paper finds no evidence of asset over-valuation
Researchers look at data from eurozone, Japan and US from 1980 to 2017
Offshoring of services could hinder job security – paper
National Bank of Belgium examines impact of offshoring goods and services; pace of services offshoring could hurt job prospects for those working in the sector
Bank of Tanzania revokes FBME Bank’s licence after US ruling
The bank was deemed a money-laundering risk in 2014, after a US report highlighted concerns; the Bank of Tanzania revokes its licence following the commercial bank’s removal from the US financial system
BoE opts out of distributed ledger tech for new RTGS system
New central infrastructure needed for RTGS revival; wider range of settlement models could be integrated by adopting a broader group of participants
Illicit capital flows a problem for countries without capital controls – Mminele
Mminele explains how capital controls benefited cross-border flow monitoring; Sarb deputy calls for a “more consistent” approach to capital flow management