Financial Stability
Fed nominee Fischer grilled on Citi ties
Former Bank of Israel governor faces tough questions on ‘revolving door’ between Citigroup and top US government roles; fellow candidates Lael Brainard and Jerome Powell also testify
MAS spearheads Bitcoin exchange regulation
Central bank is one of the first to act on regulating virtual currency exchanges, although controls are limited to money laundering and terrorist financing
Sovereign credit ratings have asymmetric impact, ECB paper finds
Working paper finds market volatility depends on whether the rating was an upgrade or a downgrade; identifies channels of contagion between countries
Nigerian deputy governor moots tax on FDI dividends and capital transfers
Kingsley Moghalu laments emerging markets' ‘Faustian bargain' with short-term portfolio investors; moots explicit measures to stem capital outflows in wake of Fed taper
Riksbank paper examines dynamics of foreign funding by Swedish banks
Study finds currency hedging needs of institutions and companies incentivise Swedish banks to issue securities in foreign currency
Carney pledges to push BoE FX investigations 'all the way'
Bank of England governor Mark Carney pledges to get to the bottom of allegations that UK central bank condoned market manipulation in FX markets
Target2 'filled in' balance of payments gaps during euro crisis, NY Fed paper finds
Federal Reserve Bank of New York study finds adjustment to the pullback of private capital during the euro crisis made less harsh by Target2
Dombret calls for cap on bank loans to sovereigns
Deutsche Bundesbank board member advocates a cap on the amount banks can lend to an individual sovereign, as they should never ‘put all their eggs in one basket’
ECB sets out second phase of asset quality review
The European Central Bank reveals the methodology of its asset quality review and provides guidance for national authorities tasked with executing the inspection
RBA takes next step in opening up payments market
Shake-up of access regimes aims to give more room for competition in the Australian payments market; proposed changes still need amendments to legislation to go ahead
Banks switch strategies way ahead of new regulation, paper finds
ECB working paper studying a set of Finnish banks finds they anticipated Basel II by up to seven years, shifting their credit portfolios in preparation for the new regulatory environment
Nature of shock explains linkages between monetary and macro-pru policies
Riksbank article studies linkages in a dynamic general equilibrium model, where macro-prudential policy is exemplified by a countercyclical capital buffer
BoE launches banknote security app
Bank of England launches an interactive application for use on mobile devices that helps the public identify security features on its banknotes
EU banks fear capital hit from CCP approval delays
For banks to apply a 2% risk-weight, non-EU CCPs must be approved by Esma and their home-country rules by the EC; banks fear that will not happen by June 15 deadline in some cases
World's biggest banks $80bn short of Basel III capital
Results from Basel Committee's latest monitoring exercise of banks' compliance with new regulatory framework shows progress but also some setbacks
Recovery needed to cement lower credit risk at Slovenian banks
Credit and solvency risk in Slovenia down following restructuring of banking system in December
Korea and Indonesia agree $10 billion swap line
Kim Choong-soo and Agus Martowardojo sign an agreement that will allow their central banks to exchange up to $10 billion worth of local currencies
ESRB handbook calls on macro-prudential regulators to overcome ‘inaction bias'
Comprehensive guidance on macro-prudential tools was published yesterday by the European Systemic Risk Board
Serbian central bank sets up overdraft charge comparator
National Bank of Serbia extends comparison services to let consumers compare overdraft facility interest rates in bid to reduce bank charges across the board
Banxico deputy wants 'prudent' deepening of credit markets
Bank penetration in Mexico remains low compared with other emerging markets, but 'prudence is sine qua non' for expanding financial inclusion, says Manuel Sánchez
BoE must balance ‘paradox' of more eurozone integration, says Cunliffe
Deputy governor for financial stability says cost of dysfunctional single currency favours ‘inconvenient' eurozone integration
Case-by-case analysis critical in deciding whether to 'lean against the wind'
Fed's Jeremy Stein highlights need to 'dig into the microeconomic details' when deciding what type of regulatory intervention is comparatively more efficient
British hacker charged over Fed computer break-in
Man charged after allegedly hacking into Federal Reserve files, downloading sensitive information and posting it to the internet; charges carry prison term of up to 12 years
Asia weathered crisis better thanks to lessons of the '90s
The Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s led the countries affected to implement policies that stood them in good stead for the global crisis of the past few years