Financial Stability
Canadian astronaut launches polymer banknotes
Former commander of the International Space Station marks the new $5 and $10 banknotes entering into circulation; senior deputy governor Tiff Macklem insists there is 'no chance' they will melt
ECB says no treaty change needed for SRM
Central bank pushes for introduction of ‘lawful' SRM by 2015; warns delay of bail-in tool may undermine resolution efforts by creating regulatory inconsistency and uncertainty
Italian interbank market kept working through crisis
A study of interbank lending in Italy from 2007-2011 finds the hypothesis of liquidity hoarding in times of crisis did not apply in the instance examined
Danish authorities tackle mortgage bond refi risk
Lars Rohde hails a new bill forged by the central bank and the government as the solution to the ‘excessive refinancing risk’ in Denmark’s mortgage bond market
Bank of Slovenia lifts lid on bank health checks
The 10 banks under investigation will be subjected to asset quality reviews and bottom-up stress tests; results will be challenged by an outside consultancy
BoE's Kohn stresses predictable nature of FPC ‘knockout'
Financial Policy Committee member Donald Kohn tells Oxford audience the Bank of England's new macro-prudential powers should allow monetary policy to act more effectively
RBI tries to persuade foreign banks to put down roots
Revamped framework unveiled by India's central bank yesterday will make it easier for foreign lenders currently operating through branches to set up wholly owned subsidiaries in the country
BoE and FDIC campaign for end to ‘early termination’ of derivatives contracts
International authorities want a ‘short-term suspension’ of the rights that allow derivatives contracts to be terminated ahead of schedule when a major financial institution is being resolved
Russians vote to choose new rouble symbol
Central Bank of Russia says more than 102,000 people voted in the first day of its online poll to choose a symbol to represent the nation's currency; voting is open until December 5
Constâncio insists private sector will play ‘major’ role in filling capital shortfalls
The ECB’s vice-president says banks will be able to fill any capital holes turned up in the central bank’s comprehensive assessment at least partly through private funds
ECB faces parliamentary grilling on Troika track record
Senior managers from European Central Bank and European Commission defend the accountability and forecasting track record of the Troika in European Parliament hearing
Bank of England waging payment system war on three fronts
Chief cashier Chris Salmon says the central bank must contend with issues relating to cyber security, user access and new regulation within the UK payments infrastructure
ECB’s Asmussen urges Denmark and Sweden to sit at banking union table
Jörg Asmussen says the single supervisory mechanism will be the envy of those outside the eurozone; tells Denmark and Sweden they will get more of a say if they have ‘a chair at the table’ now
Federal Reserve reveals new, tougher stress tests
Details of stress tests for 2014 include scenario based on severe global recession, with some banks facing additional criteria; tests will be applied to 12 more banks than before
BoE official calls for greater transparency on CCP margin modelling
Central counterparties should compete on quality of risk management, rather than a race to the bottom on margins, says Bank of England's head of payments and infrastructure
Cypriot commission criticises ‘cumbersome’ managerial structure at central bank
Independent commission wants to see more power handed to the executive and non-executive directors at the Central Bank of Cyprus; says senior management dropped the ball on financial stability
Thailand’s Prasarn highlights ‘dramatic’ turnaround caused by Fed taper-talk
Embattled emerging market central banks trying to resist capital inflows suddenly had the opposite problem as Fed hinted at QE taper, but some may have tightened too fast, says Thai governor
Tax relief for debt finance helps banks and non-banks, IMF paper finds
There is no significant difference in corporate tax bias towards debt finance between banks and non-banks, according to IMF working paper; Size and leverage levels of firms matter
Norges Bank governor heralds countercyclical capital buffer
Øystein Olsen says 'primary purpose' of prudential tool is increasing banks' resilience as systemic risk increases; buffer will vary between zero and 2.5% of risk-weighted assets
Leading central banks make emergency swap lines permanent
Six leading central banks are leaving bilateral swap agreements introduced during the financial crisis in place until further notice; US dollar liquidity-providing operations will continue as normal
Swiss researchers sceptical about advanced settlement algorithms
SNB working paper says overhauling the algorithms used in the Swiss Interbank Clearing system would produce an ‘economically irrelevant’ reduction in settlement delay and ‘low’ cost savings
Portugal governor: banks are stronger now than pre-crisis
Bank of Portugal's Carlos da Silva Costa argues stringent capital requirements 'well above the EU 8% benchmark' are starting to pay off; banks' average loan-to-deposit ratio was 123% in June
Bank of Spain's Linde touts comeback of local banks
Governor says lenders' solvency position has improved noticeably from a year ago; highlights 'drastic reduction' in toxic assets on banks' balance sheet
RBI paper finds Indian banks were not spared by financial crisis
Working paper says that despite the global financial crisis being concentrated in advanced economies, weaker Indian banks saw their margins ‘impaired significantly’