Governance
New UK law confirms Bank of England governance reforms
Bank of England and Financial Services Bill receives royal assent, cutting number of MPC meetings to eight a year; National Audit Office role expanded, but not into policy
Philip Lowe picked as next RBA governor
Deputy governor Lowe will succeed Glenn Stevens, who says there is “no-one better qualified” to lead the Reserve Bank of Australia
Zeti Akhtar Aziz on crisis management, mandates and capacity building
Bank Negara Malaysia governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz speaks to Christopher Jeffery about her three-and-a-half decades spent tackling crisis management, capacity building and governance
People: Fed appoints new director; Ghana and Uzbekistan add deputies
Matthew Eichner named director of reserve bank operations and payment systems at the Fed board; Bank of Ghana and Central Bank of Uzbekistan name new deputy governors
SNB officials fend off latest ideas for reform
Thomas Jordan and Jean Studer warn of the damage that could be done by proposals including sovereign money, broader mandate and using reserves to create sovereign wealth fund
Liberia appoints board member as new governor
Liberian president appoints Milton Weeks to lead central bank; new appointee was commercial banker and investment adviser
Rajan’s salary makes him a bargain among G20 governors
Indian governor takes home an unusually small sum each year compared with some other G20 governors, and comes out favourably on other metrics too
Malaysian deputy picked to succeed Zeti
Muhammad bin Ibrahim will be handed five-year term effective May 1; analysts point to potential challenges from growth slowdown and capital outflows
FCA chairman defends selection process for new chief
Griffith-Jones questioned on the decision not to interview Andrew Bailey before his appointment as chief executive; says he would have raised any concerns about process with Osborne
Parliament gains influence in FCA chief appointments
George Osborne says Treasury Select Committee will be able to scrutinise future appointments before they are formalised, with the ability to send them to the House of Commons for a vote
FCA paper investigates whether HFTs predict orders
Working paper finds patterns consistent with HFTs anticipating order flows over longer time periods, but authors unable to ascertain cause
People: ECB names HR director-general; BoE gets new MPC member
ECB appoints new head of human resources; Citigroup economist joins Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee; New York Fed’s chief lawyer to step down after twenty-one years in the role
New Tunisian central bank law boosts independence and expands mandate
Law governing the Tunisian central bank is amended, with the aim of increasing independence and giving the bank a financial stability role; law drafted by the central bank with IMF assistance
Namibia in process of scrapping assistant governor position for second deputy
Bank of Namibia board to review proposal for legislative changes this month, before submitting it to parliament; assistant governor role vacant for over two years
Central Banking launches ‘responsive’ website
New website aims to offer more user-friendly experience, automatically adjusting to whatever device used – be it computer, tablet or smartphone
People: Turkey nominates new governor; McDermott to step down from FCA
Turkish government picks deputy to replace Erdem Başçı, but he must still be confirmed by the president; UK’s interim FCA chief says she will leave when her successor takes office; and more
New Moldovan governor takes up post
New governor at Moldovan central bank must deal with after-effects of massive theft from three commercial banks; Sergiu Cioclea previously worked for BNP Paribas
Sam Woods to replace Bailey as PRA chief
Bank of England executive director promoted, to take over from Andrew Bailey when he moves to the Financial Conduct Authority
Communist party official and former deputy nominated as Vietnam governor
New prime minister nominates Le Minh Hung shortly after inauguration; national assembly relieves former governor with 87% voting in favour
ECB voices concerns over Hungarian National Bank
ECB expresses concern over recent actions by Hungary’s central bank, including purchase of art, land and Budapest stock exchange; says foundation money must not be used for state financing