Financial Stability
Andrew Bailey warns of macro impact from pensions trouble
FCA chief says low interest rates and other factors shaping the pensions market are likely to have knock-on effects on the economy, though the area is not well understood
BoE lays out blueprint for RTGS reboot
“Comprehensive rebuild” of current large-value payments platform will retain many core features while adding new resilience, access options, functionality and interoperability
Cœuré mulls advantages and problems of GDP-linked bonds
ECB board member Benoît Cœuré says GDP-linked bonds could protect taxpayers but pricing might be difficult; says international financial institutions could play “catalytic” role
‘Absolutely urgent’ for Mexico to strengthen fiscal stance – Sánchez
Bank of Mexico deputy governor stresses need for fiscal revamp to bolster the Mexican economy as monetary policy can only carry so much weight
IMF official criticises interest rate caps in speech honouring Kenyan central bank
Interest rate ceilings can interfere with central bank independence and restrict credit access, IMF deputy managing director tells Kenyan officials
IMF's systemic risk findings called into question
Financial connectedness measure “not usually sharply aligned with systemic risk”, says Darrell Duffie
Mexico inflation could be affected by exchange rate and US events
Mexico’s board to closely monitor exchange rate pass-through on consumer prices, quarterly review says; outcome of US election and the normalisation of the Fed's interest rate also a concern
National Bank of Denmark warns of growing bubble in Copenhagen
Report says housing market in country as a whole looks relatively stable, but Copenhagen’s market is close to the danger zone, following first “statistical bubble test”
Bank of Slovenia introduces macro-prudential measures for housing market
Slovenia’s central bank has recommended lenders impose loan-to-value and debt service-to-income ratios on all new housing borrowers
Largest banks meet Basel III capital standards – BIS and EBA
Banks have improved capital and liquidity ratios, reports note, but methodology may differ from that used by industry
BIS’s Borio: leaning against the wind must be systematic
Claudio Borio says using monetary policy to stabilise the financial cycle is only likely to be effective if done all the time, not just when trouble is brewing
BIS paper flags spillovers from bank dividends
Dividend payments create a channel through which one bank’s capital policy can affect the equity value and risk of default of others, giving capital the attributes of a public good
Basel Committee hits turbulence on approach to year-end deadline
Central banks and supervisors offer support to its year-end goal, but industry players and EU countries show growing concern over higher capital levels
Recessions nearly tripled amount of Italian NPLs, paper argues
Italian bad debt levels would be almost one third of their current levels without the sub-prime and sovereign debt crises, a counterfactual analysis argues
ECB consults on bad debt guidance
ECB “strongly encourages” the use of the European Banking Authority’s definition of non-performing exposures, but does not impose its own single measure for the eurozone
Fed finalises rules for countercyclical capital buffer
US central bank promises it will only adjust the buffer gradually and will seek comment before doing so, after consultation flagged concerns
‘Neural network’ could help construct early warning systems – Colombian paper
Model can detect identity of bank by analysing features of its balance sheet, which the authors say can be coupled with other financial stress indicators to help classify banks by their fragility
RBA’s Lowe: credit not enough to measure financial cycle
Deputy governor says the financial cycle’s “considerable intuitive appeal” needs to be backed up with better research on measuring cycles, with balance sheets likely to play a key role
Singapore’s growth as a financial sector can no longer rely on luck – Menon
Resilience, dynamism and transparency needed for a prosperous financial sector, Menon says; Singapore can no longer rely on its previous good fortune to foster growth
Flug urges Israeli parliament to make haste in setting up financial stability committee
Bank of Israel governor says changes to banking competition increase the need for the new supervisory body, warning risks may be on the rise
RBNZ tweaks LVR rules following consultation
New rules to apply to investors nationwide, placing 5% “speed limit” for lending above LVRs of 60%; proposed new measures to come into force in October due to banks’ deadline concerns
More than AML fears driving correspondent banks away from Arab economies – report
AMF-IMF-World Bank survey of banks in Arab nations finds a broader de-risking to be behind pull-back of correspondent banking, though trend is uneven
Co-ordinated effort needed to raise growth – Lagarde
IMF chief says all policy levers must be used to halt low growth; G20 also promised reforms to provide “growth impulse”
Time for private sector to take up economic reform baton – Jamaica’s Wynter
Fiscal and monetary authorities have played their part, and economic growth cannot be driven by the government, says Wynter