Financial Stability
Thailand unveils royal family commemorative banknotes
Bank of Thailand reveals two new banknotes to mark Queen’s 80th birthday and the Crown Prince’s 60th birthday; special security features are included
Fijian central bank reports on financial investigations
Reserve Bank of Fiji publishes annual report of its financial intelligence unit; says the unit investigated a large number of serious financial offences in 2011
RBI governor speaks on microfinance regulation challenges
Duvvuri Subbarao warns of risks posed by unregulated microfinance; sets out efforts by central bank and government to create 'comprehensive' regulation
Bulgarian governor praises success of macro-prudential policy
Ivan Iskrov describes Bulgarian experience of macro-prudential policy; says Bulgarian National Bank was ahead of curve in regulating financial system
IMF paper assesses drivers of banking equity returns
Working paper studies factors behind movements in bank equity prices; finds that despite general 'dismal' performance, equities of better capitalised and less leveraged banks perform best
Bank of Canada reports payment system developments
Report reviews Bank of Canada’s activities in promoting clearing and settlement systems; says operations support 'stability and efficiency' of financial system
Bank of Mauritius to investigate fair banking practices
Bank of Mauritius promises to investigate terms and conditions of contracts consumers sign, including fees, commission and charges levied by banks; following rise in complaints
Diamond clarifies note on conversation with BoE deputy
Former chief executive of Barclays explains note written after conversation with Paul Tucker; gives evidence on same day Tucker makes public request for hearing with Treasury Select Committee
Democratic Republic of Congo fights dollarisation
Central Bank of the Democratic Republic of Congo releases new high-denomination banknotes; move signifies efforts to limit dollarisation in the country but also poses inflation risk
IMF paper assesses eurobond proposals
Working paper considers five proposed methods of common debt issuance in Europe; argues there must be a “fundamental discussion” to avoid unintended consequences
Barclays draws Bank of England into Libor debacle
Email relaying conversation between Bob Diamond and Paul Tucker raises questions over BoE deputy’s role in rate-setting scandal; Diamond set to explain further before parliamentary committee tomorrow
Second wave of CSDs sign T2S framework agreement
A total of 15 central securities depositories sign T2S framework agreement in second wave; system set to go live in June 2015
IMF issues updates on German and US economies
International Monetary Fund notes Germany’s “remarkable” economic performance; warns US over “tepid” recovery
Noyer sets out eurozone financial union necessities
Governor of the Banque de France identifies three main powers needed to ensure eurozone financial union; “massive firepower” needed by bank emergency fund
ECB’s Asmussen attacks delays to Greek reforms
Jörg Asmussen says Greek government must get reform programme 'back on track'; blasts "reluctance" to implement necessary reforms
Hungary launches same-day credit transfer system
Electronically submitted domestic transfers now reach destination within a maximum of four hours; improvement on previous system when payments took one business day
Ireland’s Honohan highlights advantages of ‘more Europe’
Patrick Honohan discusses challenges of restoring market confidence in the eurozone; says Ireland has ‘quite a lot to gain’ from further integration with Europe
US authorities explain living will review process
Largest banking groups must hand in resolution plans by July 2; preliminary reviews will be completed within 60 days say FDIC and Fed
Basel Committee unveils framework for monitoring D-Sibs
Consultative document sets out loss-absorbency guidelines for domestic systemically important banks; principles allow greater flexibility than rules for global institutions
RBI paper suggests alternative to Basel capital buffer
Working paper considers applicability of using debt-to-GDP ratio as guide to capital buffer; argues India requires a different method to assess capital requirements
‘Branchless’ banking increasing in Pakistan
So-called 'branchless banking' transactions grew 23% between January and March this year; accounts linked to mobile phones reached over 1 million during the period
Poland finalises Swiss currency swap agreement to protect banking sector
National Bank of Poland signs 'precautionary' currency swap deal with Swiss National Bank; in place to deal with liquidity pressures surrounding financing in Swiss francs
Sweden joins opposition to European banking union
Swedish government opposes European banking union proposals; Czech National Bank also expresses concerns
Reserve Bank of New Zealand examines bank funding
Quarterly bulletin article considers relationship between official cash rate and cost of bank funding; finds funding costs relative to the OCR changed following financial crisis