Financial Stability
IMF puts subprime losses at $945 billion
Estimates of the size of losses on subprime mortgages and related forms of lending just get uglier and uglier. The latest estimate, presented by the International Monetary Fund in its Global Financial Stability Report (GFSR), puts losses at a staggering …
Politicians ask Fed to clarify Bear deal
A high-ranking American politician has issued a strongly worded request for more details about the arrangement the Federal Reserve struck with BlackRock, an asset management firm, to manage a $29 billion portfolio of assets from Bear Stearns following…
Bond spreads determined by turmoil
At the times of crisis global financial market conditions are the fundamental drivers of changes in bond spreads, research published by the International Monetary Fund finds.
IMF chief calls for public intervention in credit
Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), said on 6 April that he thinks the need for "public intervention" in the credit crisis is becoming more evident.
UK chancellor wants action on market crisis
Alistair Darling, the UK chancellor, has called on his G7 counterparts to formulate a "clear and detailed plan of action" to combat the turmoil in world markets.
Greenspan hits back
Alan Greenspan, a former chairman of the Federal Reserve, has said that the blame for the subprime crisis lies with the investment community rather than himself, as has often been argued.
Crisis not over yet, says Netherlands' Wellink
Nout Wellink, the president of the Netherlands Central Bank, said the financial crisis is far from over, the US looks almost certain to go into recession and the rest of the world will suffer the consequences.
Joint Forum: CRT markets' future developments
Firms should not establish material positions in credit risk transfer (CRT) instruments without first having validated models for pricing and risk-managing such exposures, advises a new report from the Joint Forum.
New UK coinage meets lukewarm reception
New coin and banknote designs are almost inevitably greeted with criticism and the first new coin designs for 40 years from the UK's Royal Mint, unveiled on 3 April, were no exception. Historians, designers and MPs have already criticised them.
Payment system risk the priority
The need to mitigate the risk involved in using outmoded payments infrastructure has to be given priority, said Ranee Jayamaha, a deputy governor at the Central Bank of Sri Lanka.
Tucker: BoE to only partly offset the credit blow
The Bank of England should cut rates gradually to avoid inflation, said Paul Tucker, the Bank's executive director responsible for markets and member of the Monetary Policy Committee.
Lenders expect further credit cutbacks: BoE poll
The Bank of England's quarterly survey of credit conditions, published on 3 April, showed that lenders had reduced the supply of secured credit to households over the three months to mid-March.
Iceland's Fridriksson dismisses stability concerns
In an effort to reassure investors, Ingimundur Fridriksson, a board member at the Central Bank of Iceland, has denied that the country's banks and economy are unstable.
Auction shows massive demand for ECB cash
The European Central Bank's (ECB) first-ever auction of six-month loans was more than four times oversubscribed, indicating the high level of tension in the region's money markets.
Fed's new subprime and alt-A maps
The Federal Reserve System will publish maps updated monthly to illustrate the state of subprime and alt-A mortgage loans across the United States.
FSF to suggest radical solutions to turmoil
The Financial Stability Forum (FSF) is set to propose a series of unorthodox measures for fighting the credit crunch, say media reports.
Kansas City's subprime loan record
Subprime borrowers in the 10th district are having difficulties with payment delinquencies running above the national average, according to a recent report by the Federal Reserve of Kansas City.
"Unscrupulous dealers" attacking Iceland's economy
David Oddsson, the chairman of the board of directors at the Central Bank of Iceland, suspects that "unscrupulous dealers" are trying to bring down the Icelandic financial system by circulating rumours about the country's bank and central government.
ECB to add €150 billion as market rates creep up
The European Central Bank (ECB) is to conduct four extra open market operations in a bid to relieve interbank tensions.
RBA Financial Stability Review
The Australian financial system has coped better with the recent strains than have those of many other countries, notes the latest Financial Stability Report from the Reserve Bank of Australia.
Financial markets in Japan
This new report from the Bank of Japan looks at how financial markets in the country coped with the market turmoil triggered by the subprime woes in the second half of 2007.
Costs rise for dollar loans despite $50bn auction
The Federal Reserve's latest Term Auction Facility operation failed to quell rising interbank tensions as money-market rates for one-month dollar loans climbed on Tuesday 25 March.
Bank's extra cash to stay in system until April
The Bank of England said on Thursday 20 March that it would carry over the emergency £5 billion ($10 billion) injection made on Monday until just before its next rate-setting meeting.
Hong Kong's RTGS passes share-dealing-surge test
Optimisers in Hong Kong's high-value payments system meant it was able to cope with the explosion in initial purchase offers and lively market trading in 2007, Esmond Lee and Sara Yip, two members of the Financial Infrastructure Department at the region…