Financial Stability
Pianalto says financial regulation should learn from monetary policy transparency
Financial regulation can benefit in the same way as monetary policy has from transparency and forward guidance, says Cleveland Fed president Sandra Pianalto
IMF prescribes faster eurozone progress for both Spain and Germany
IMF teams report progress being made in both Spain and Germany, though sluggish progress on banking union could stop both economies from bouncing back more quickly
ECB's Cœuré says international liquidity must be allowed to flow
The risks from financial protectionism outweigh those of negative spillovers that currently dominate the global debate, argues ECB executive board member Benoît Cœuré
Fed’s Yellen moots higher capital requirements for US banks
Janet Yellen says Basel III capital requirements may not be enough to end the too-big-to-fail problem; sizes up risk in the shadow-banking sector
EC recognises member state fears that FTT will hurt clearing
Tax liability could send CCPs "directly into insolvency" warn Czech officials in leaked document
IMF paper proposes ‘more ambitious’ benchmark design
Working paper calls current benchmark designs ‘a legacy from history’; proposes own design to better represent actual wholesale funding costs
Vietnam bad bank to stimulate growth in NPL-ridden banking sector
Vietnam central bank aims to put banking sector on a stable footing to support growth, by taking non-performing loans into state-run 'bad bank'
Colombian governor warns Latin America could be hit hard by end of US QE
José Darío Uribe says past instances of monetary policy tightening in the US have caused crises in Latin America, but argues the region is better prepared this time around
UK consumers drop cash in move towards mobile payments
British Retail Consortium says cash usage fell sharply last year, while research by VocaLink finds a strong uptake of mobile payments by consumers, though retail payments are still dominated by cash
ECB links ‘fragile’ financial stability to weak macroeconomy
Latest financial stability review says stress has ‘fallen markedly’ but vulnerabilities persist; ECB is most concerned about the impact of a further decline in bank profitability
RBNZ could ‘scale up’ forex intervention
Reserve Bank of New Zealand governor Graeme Wheeler signals willingness to sell more NZ dollars to combat currency appreciation; house price increases put central bank in policy ‘bind’
HKMA's Chan identifies inherent flaws in risk models
HKMA chief questions the use of financial models in risk management; argues the inability of models to account for irrationality is a major defect
BoJ’s Kuroda highlights 'increasing attention' on capital controls
Bank of Japan governor notes greater understanding of volatile capital flows as a channel for financial shock transmission; says banking union may be plagued by 'financial trilemma'
Belize annual report details financial stability measures
Central Bank of Belize publishes annual report for 2012; establishes financial stability unit to explore macro-prudential surveillance and introduces measures to reduce share of NPLs
RBA considers overhaul to card access regimes
Reserve Bank of Australia launches consultation on whether to change or revoke rules governing access to credit and debit card systems – which might allow the RBA itself to acquire cards
Danish governor rejects financial transaction tax
Per Callesen says tax will restrict market liquidity and banks are ‘right to complain’ about it; says the central bank’s experience with negative interest rates has been a success
Central bank operations push up Target2 turnover
ECB annual report says central banks helped push the value of payments in Target2 system to €634 trillion in 2012; balances diverged as German claims and Spanish liabilities increased
Danish paper uses three centuries of data to show tail risks underestimated
Research says severe stress cannot be properly understood with short time horizons; suggests results could be used to design tougher stress tests
BIS paper finds higher US bank taxes may have only moved stability risk
Research into higher taxes imposed on wholesale funding by US banks finds they did reduce reliance on short-term borrowing, but says risks may simply have been pushed into foreign banks
Central Bank of Ireland stresses importance of long-term bank profitability
Irish macro-financial review highlights need for banks to support the real economy with credit at sustainable rates; increases in bank profitability also necessary for long-term sustainability
German banks adopt Step2 for domestic payments
EBA Clearing reveals seven German banks will use the Step2 payments system to process and clear their domestic payments, converting in the second half of 2013
Riksbank risk survey reveals rate-rise fears
Participants in Sweden’s fixed-income and forex markets raise concerns over interest rates rising faster abroad than at home; unemployment data fuels call for a rate cut in the near term
RBI executive director sees emerging threats to Indian banking
Deepak Mohanty warns of problems on the horizon, including deteriorating asset quality, high interest margins and the need to build capital buffers
BNM's Zeti calls on Islamic finance to show leadership out of the crisis
The challenge of sustaining momentum of Islamic finance will hinge on its ability to keep raising the bar in effectiveness and soundness, says Malaysian governor