Financial Stability
EBA warns of Bitcoin risks
European Banking Authority tells Bitcoin users to invest only what they can ‘afford to lose’ as not much can be done about exchange failures or digital theft
Rajan outlines medium-term 'pillars' for improving India's financial system
The five pillars comprise a 'clarified' monetary policy framework and a more liquid sovereign bond market; nation would 'benefit enormously' from the elimination of 'poorly targeted' subsidies
Slovenian banks need €4.8 billion cash injection, government says
Public bailout expected to raise public debt burden by 20 percentage points; country's three largest banks in particular dire straits, according to recently wrapped-up external asset quality review
EU bail-in to start two years early after Parliament and Council reach agreement
Bail-in rules, expected only from January 2018, will now enter force in January 2016; public bail-outs remain on the table as a last resort
Draghi says sovereign debt risk weights are a question for Basel Committee
Mario Draghi says it is up to the Basel Committee to assign different risk weights on sovereign debt ‘at the proper time’ and seeks to appease politicians' concerns over SME credit
Federal agencies finalise Volcker rule exceptions
The Federal Reserve, FDIC and other agencies agree on a final version of the Volcker rule to ban proprietary trading and investment fund activities, but with a series of exemptions
HKMA launches ‘hassle-free’ electronics payments platform
Hong Kong Monetary Authority says the platform will enable the general public to receive, manage and schedule electronic payments in three different currencies through one portal
IMF's Viñals says ESM should backstop ECB's comprehensive assessment
José Viñals says the European Stability Mechanism should be made available as a public backstop for the ECB’s forthcoming comprehensive assessment
Russian interbank market lacks discipline, Bofit paper finds
Investigation into levels of market discipline in the Russian interbank market finds some discipline was present during the financial crisis, but even then it was insufficient to curb risk-taking
Pakistan deputy wants new data protection laws for payments
Ashraf Mahmood Wathra welcomes the ‘innovative banking practices’ driving financial inclusion but says data protection must keep pace
Central Bank of Russia picks official rouble symbol
The Russian currency will now have an official symbol after an open design competition came down to a public vote between five designs
Bank of Canada warns over lingering economic vulnerabilities
The global economy looks more robust than it did when the Bank of Canada published its last Financial System Review six months ago, but risks remain
RBI's Joshi on the bank's wide-ranging strategies to raise financial awareness
RBI executive director says strategy is to raise financial literacy through initiatives like outreach visits and financial literacy centres, but also through 'comic books, plays and skits'
RBA paves way for new entrants in card systems
Reserve Bank of Australia wants to facilitate new entrants into Australia’s credit and debit card systems; plans to let MasterCard and Visa set the eligibility criteria
UK can escape ‘liquidity trap', Carney says
Mark Carney tells New York audience the Bank of England's joint responsibility for monetary and financial policy allows it to stimulate the economy while avoiding unbalanced growth
Risky loans reach pre-crisis levels as banks are increasingly bypassed, warns BIS
Basel-based organisation also frets over impact on corporate bond markets from interest rate normalisation; cross-border lending falls in Q2 as non-banks play increasingly important role
Malaysian deputy laments ‘price distortion’ between cheques and electronic payments
Muhammad bin Ibrahim says the $240 million spent on processing cheques by the Bank Negara Malaysia each year is a ‘huge and sheer wastage’ and could be avoided by more accurate pricing
National Bank of Belgium weighs reduction in one and two cent coins
Belgian central bank considers merits of allowing traders to round cash and electronic payments to the nearest five cents in a bid to render one and two cent coins ‘unnecessary’
MAS launches two-year technical assistance programme for neighbouring central banks
The Monetary Authority of Singapore will provide training activities and forums for 190 central bank officials from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam between now and 2015
Philippine governor touts country's microfinance expansion
Amando Tetangco outlines ways in which the central bank has facilitated developments; says recent catastrophe underscores the need for 'microinsurance'
SSM offers best chance of successful regulation, says Cyril Roux
Irish regulator-in-chief says supervisory authorities suffer from in-built weaknesses that the SSM may go some way to overcoming
RBI consults on treatment of domestic systemically important banks
Reserve Bank of India releases proposals for identifying domestic systemically important banks and increasing their capital requirements; state-owned banks may need capital injections
Norges Bank issues ‘secret' advice on prudential regulation
Norwegian finance ministry will publish central bank recommendations on countercyclical buffers only once it has decided whether or not to follow the advice; bank holds interest rates at 1.5%