Financial Stability
Haldane laments poor grasp of international monetary system
BoE chief economist says regulators have paid insufficient heed to the global financial system as a whole; wants ‘Star Trek chair’ from which to survey the landscape
Buba research links output volatility and capital flows
Discussion paper finds countries with more volatile growth rates face greater procyclicality of capital outflows, which may be a result of precautionary saving
FSB warns of spillovers from new bank structures
Regulators in other jurisdictions fear potential knock-on impact from Liikanen, Vickers and Volcker reforms to bank structure
Bank of England seeks global consensus on ‘fair and effective’ markets
Review aims to fix outstanding issues with market structure and conduct; Minouche Shafik says the central bank is working with others globally to build a consensus
Serbian central bank dismisses losses as ‘accounting measure’
National Bank of Serbia loses $462 million in 2013; attributes it to range of factors including falling gold prices and a new ‘corporate profit tax’ on non-profit organisations
Buba’s Dombret leads calls to focus on bank profitability
Andreas Dombret says German banks may be resilient, but they are not competitive; commentators at leading accountancies stress the need to focus on profitability
Monte dei Paschi’s shares plummet in wake of ECB results
Shares in Italy’s third-largest bank drop by 20% as the market reacts to stress-test results; MPS claims it was ‘penalised’ by methodology
ECB health check leaves 13 banks to raise €9.5 billion
Results of comprehensive assessment show 25 banks with capital shortfalls, but remedial actions taken throughout year leave just 13 banks short of targets
Stevens exerts pressure on Australian payments industry
RBA governor says the central bank would be ‘duty bound’ to use its regulatory powers to bring about change if the market does not do so of its own free will
Chile’s economy affected by commodities price shocks, says central bank governor
Commodity price shocks can 'be transmitted to the rest of the economy, even when countercyclical fiscal and monetary policies are in place', argues the Central Bank of Chile governor
BoE researchers flag potential flaws in CCP default funds
Paper asks whether ‘cover two’ standard for central counterparties is tough enough to prevent ‘disaster’; some distributions of risk give cause for concern
RBNZ’s Wheeler highlights the many unknowns of financial linkages
Governor says our understanding of the ‘empirical links’ of exchange rates and cross-border financial flows remains limited
ECB will release bank health check results on Sunday
The European Central Bank will publish the asset quality review and stress test results for 130 eurozone banks this weekend. Here, Central Banking set outs what to look for.
Fed issues tougher and broader 2015 stress tests
Severely adverse scenario adds oil price shock and wider corporate bond spreads; list of stress-tested institutions grows
Bank of England spells out resolution plans
Central bank details its approach to resolving a failed financial institution, including the use of bail-in, restructuring and international cooperation with other regulators
Central Bank of Iraq updates 5,000 and 25,000 dinar banknotes
The central bank says the new banknotes will coexist with their predecessors; most notable change sees addition of transparent window on 25,000 note
Uruguay digitises cheque clearing in payments overhaul
Central bank announces that all cheques will be cleared electronically – part of a payment system reform that will see the promotion of mobile banking
BIS paper finds liquidity regulation need not harm lending
Evidence from the UK implies banks reduced their interconnectedness, but did not cut lending to the real economy in response to tighter liquidity regulations in 2010
Paraguay’s central bank president calls for new powers
Carlos Fernández Valdovinos says the national law needs to be updated, in a manner that allows the regulator to adapt quickly in the face of emerging risks
Bank of Finland paper examines impact of Basel II on international bank lending
Research finds sovereign credit rating revisions have become more important since the implementation of Basel II capital rules
Mexican committee makes progress on bank liquidity rules
Bank of Mexico is setting up new rules on banking liquidity that will take effect in January 2015, in line with Basel III requirements; work progressed through new committee
National Bank of Denmark to outsource production of banknotes and coins
The National Bank of Denmark will outsource all of its printing and minting services to an external supplier in 2016, with an estimated saving of $17 million by 2020
EBA finds Bulgarian National Bank ‘in breach’ of EU law
The European Banking Authority issues a recommendation calling for the Bulgarian authorities to allow depositors access to the funds held by failed banks
ECB health check ‘putting strains’ on Cyprus central bank
IMF staff report finds the operational capacity of the Central Bank of Cyprus is being stretched by the transition to the SSM, including the ECB's comprehensive assessment