Financial Stability
US housing prices strongly influenced by news, says Bank of Portugal paper
Bank of Portugal study says news shocks explain sizable fraction of variation in house prices and housing investment in the US over the past four decades
BoE and Treasury Committee clash over accountability
Treasury Select Committee rebuffs Bank of England proposal on accountability reforms; chair Andrew Tyrie sets out three main areas of disagreement between the two bodies
EU freezes assets of Iranian central bank
EU follows US lead by announcing strict new sanctions on Iranian central bank; heart of action is to limit the country’s nuclear programme
Lagarde calls for larger firewall to ease funding costs
Fund managing director Christine Lagarde says $500 billion boost in lending capacity will improve growth and allow for deeper integration in Europe; says larger firewall is also needed
Credit rating agencies pose stability risks, says IMF paper
Fund study shows opinions of rating agencies can influence financial stability through impact on sovereign funding costs
Governments can safeguard economy against supply shocks, says National Bank of Denmark paper
National Bank of Denmark study says financial system structures and government support are important factors in shielding the economy from supply shocks
Interview: Gerard Hartsink
European Payments Council chairman Gerard Hartsink tells Yusuf Yassin he welcomes the decision to set end-dates for Sepa migration, but says concerns about the regulation, raised in October, remain
Swedish authorities improve macroprudential policy co-operation
The Riksbank and Finansinspektionen form a new council for co-operation on macroprudential policy; group will not infringe on two authorities' independence in decision-making
FSB Regional Consultative Group meetings continue
Middle East and North Africa consultative group is latest regional FSB body to meet; discussed financial vulnerabilities of the region
ECB report urges progress on Sepa card payments migration
European Central Bank study says considerable effort is still needed to achieve an integrated European market for card payments
Macro-stress tests not suitable as early warning systems, says BIS paper
Bank for International Settlements study says macro-stress tests are ineffective tools for identifying vulnerabilities in the financial sector during tranquil times, and could even mislead supervisors
Haldane calls for radical rethink of accounting rules
Bank of England financial stability executive director Andrew Haldane says departure form fair-value accounting principles necessary to prevent pro-cyclical behaviour of asset prices
Risk managers complain about Fed stress test workload
Twelve new banks are included in this year's US stress test, and some institutions are unhappy about the extra work
IMF plans to raise $500 billion in new funds
Fund executive directors say doubling of lending resources will shore up emergency facility and aid indebted nations
Japan to support EFSF bonds as S&P strips AAA rating
The Japanese government will continue to support bonds issued by the EFSF despite Standard & Poor’s stripping them of their AAA rating; Junker says no indication other rating agencies will follow
Fed paper models financial stress index
US Federal Reserve study discusses several factors that should be considered when building financial stress indexes
RBI’s Chakrabarty discusses limitations of crisis management frameworks
Reserve Bank of India deputy governor KC Chakrabarty says policy-makers will need to anticipate future crises by taking pre-emptive action
European banks still exposed to US dollar funding risks, ESRB warns
European Systemic Risk Board issues recommendations to prevent build up in US dollar funding and liquidity risk; calls for single entity to be responsible for national macro-prudential policy
IMF paper proposes new toolkit to monitor fiscal vulnerabilities
Fund study builds new toolkit to assess fiscal risks in advanced economies; framework contributes to IMF-Financial Stability Board Early Warning Exercise
Libya begins phasing out old banknotes
Banknotes depicting the late colonel Muammar Gaddafi being removed from circulation; new currency series on the way
Euro counterfeit banknote figure creeps up
Number of known fake euro banknotes hit 310,000 during in the second half of 2011, up 5% on the first half of the year
Pakistan forges ahead with mobile banking promotion
State Bank of Pakistan signs agreement with national telecommunication authority to further the development of mobile banking in the country
BoJ report warns of pause in economic activity
Bank of Japan’s Regional Economic Report for January 2012 shows signs that pace of economic growth is moderating
Duke favours more simple stress tests for smaller banks
Federal Reserve’s Elizabeth Duke says community banks can conduct general tests on bank loan portfolios to reduce cost burdens