Financial Stability
Regulators need a ‘holistic' view of the global financial system, says RBA's Debelle
RBA assistant governor Guy Debelle said that limited understanding of how financial reforms interact should not prompt regulators to ‘pick and choose' or delay their implementation
IMF reports show French and German banking sectors are key to European stability
IMF urges France to do away with tax disincentives to deposits in an effort to broaden banks' funding sources; emphasises Germany's role in forging a robust eurozone financial architecture
Sarb issues new collateral requirements for committed liquidity facility
While revisions to Basel III have reduced South African banks' immediate LCR shortfall, they are still 140 billion rand short, according to the central bank
Bank of England's prudential regulator consults banks on capital requirements
The UK's Prudential Regulatory Authority wants to hear from financial institutions about the best way to implement Europe's new CRD IV legislation
NY Fed researchers explore long-term rate rise
Ten-year Treasury yields rose ‘sharply’ between April and July; researchers attribute this to an increase in the compensation investors were demanding to hold them
Adopting electronic retail payments boosts real economy, says ECB paper
Working paper says efficient electronic retail payment infrastructure boosts GDP, trade and consumption; integrating and harmonising different markets amplifies these effects
Central Bank of Ireland director says it will take ‘some time' to get out of crisis
Fiona Muldoon adds the task now is putting together a business model for Ireland that ‘expands on parts of the economy not built on buying and selling houses to each other at ever inflated prices'
RBI governor champions ‘logically robust' financial regulation
Duvvuri Subbarao says financial markets stand out because they are not self-correcting, and because financial firms are highly leveraged and uniquely interconnected
Court decision overturns Fed cap on credit card fees
Ruling slams Fed's $0.21 cap on banks' interchange fees as too high and for running ‘completely afoul of the text, design and purpose' of legislators' intent; bank body calls on Fed to appeal
Kuwaiti central bank details triumvirate of stress tests
Central Bank of Kuwait releases annual report; details its three-pronged approach to stress-testing the country’s banks
Intertwined Caribbean need stronger cross-border regulation, argues IMF paper
While stressing that greater financial interconnectedness could have a beneficial impact, the paper warns of regulatory arbitrage and underestimation of systemic risks in the region
Palestinian annual report highlights infrastructure progress
Palestine Monetary Authority details successful projects completed in 2012, including the introduction of the region's ‘most efficient’ RTGS system
Yen volatility drives record turnover, central bank surveys reveal
Volume was up across foreign exchange products in the UK and US in April 2013, with nearly $1 trillion traded daily in the US and more than $2.5 trillion in the UK
Slovenian stability review scolds ‘inactive and irresponsible' bank owners
Slovenian banks are squeezed by increasingly expensive wholesale funding and heavy exposure to an anaemic corporate sector, stoking fears of 'systemic risk' at the central bank
RBI deputy says improved governance standards ‘holy grail' in fight against fraud
While the number of reported frauds in India is coming down, the amount is growing as large-value, advance-related frauds are becoming increasingly common, notes Kamalesh Chandra Chakrabarty
Nigeria's financial system stable despite major challenges
A handful of lenders continue to dominate the country's banking industry, but asset quality and capitalisation levels ‘improved significantly' last year, according to the central bank's latest stability report
HKMA deputy says QE taper to bring ‘immense shocks' to markets
Eddie Yue slams advanced economies' ‘unprecedented' accommodative monetary policy for creating global imbalances and fuelling Hong Kong asset prices
Reserve Bank of Malawi paper finds central bank ‘leans against the wind'
Researchers from Malawi's central bank find interventions in the currency market have been associated with high volatility but have helped to stabilise the kwacha since 2003
MAS to lend Singapore dollars against JGBs
Monetary Authority of Singapore and Bank of Japan strike cross-border collateral arrangement; MAS looking to make it easier for banks to manage their liquidity needs
Hungarian paper breaks down components of finanical market indicators
Working paper presents a method for separating the global, regional and country-specific components in market indicators
Consumers' inferior bargain position ‘largest issue to be tackled'
RBI's Deepali Pant Joshi says financial crisis had ‘highlighted the importance of financial consumer protection for the long-term stability of the global financial system'
European Commission floats proposal to cap fees on credit card transactions
EC says retailers will make big savings by paying lower fees to their banks, and consumers will benefit through lower retail prices as a result of new regulation
Research investigates factors behind region-wide banking stability
New paper finds more competitive regional banking systems are less fragile; contagion is more dangerous when the host's banks are more liquid and better capitalised
UAE to mint more small coins - while Ireland starts phasing them out
The introduction of paid parking in shopping centres prompts coin shortage in the UAE; Ireland launches local pilot programme to round bills to the nearest five cents