Governance
Riksbank unveils organisational shake-up
Three new units streamlining asset management and payment operations will come into being on March 1; also announces transfer of Skr3.3 billion to Treasury
ECB names five SSM deputies
The European Central Bank appoints five deputy directors-general to its single supervisory mechanism with another two to follow; the Bank of Spain contributes a second senior supervisor
Hungary chided by ECB over threat to suspend governor
Hungarian law states that if the governor or deputy governors fail to declare personal wealth, they could be relieved of their posts; ECB points out this is insufficient grounds under European statute
People: Former PM joins Czech central bank; Bank of Canada appoints ‘special adviser'
Czech National Bank replaces outgoing board member with man who was Prime Minister until last week; Canada appoints special adviser with financial system expertise
ECB reshuffles executive board
Benoît Coeuré takes over international and European relations; Yves Mersch inherits payments and market infrastructure; Vítor Constâncio gets macro-prudential policy
Central Bank of Nicaragua appoints Ovidio Reyes president
General manager was made acting president when Alberto Guevara was stripped of his responsibilities in mid-January, but was only officially appointed on Thursday
Ben Bernanke joins Brookings; State Bank of Pakistan promotes deputy to acting governor
Bernanke, who left the Federal Reserve on Friday, will engage in ‘research and writing' at the Washington think-tank; State Bank of Pakistan deputy steps up after governor's departure
Bank of England to lay off up to 100 staff
The central bank is looking to save £18 million over the next three years by making operations leaner; union representatives ‘strongly' oppose resulting redundancies
Bernanke passes torch to Yellen as poll shows US torn on his legacy
Janet Yellen to be sworn in as Federal Reserve chair on Monday, but de facto takes over when Bernanke bids farewell today
People: Israel appoints new currency head; ESRB re-elects Ingves
ESRB also reappoints Marek Belka, president of the National Bank of Poland, to steering committee and appoints Richard Portes, founder of CEPR, to Advisory Scientific Committee
Pakistan governor resigns for ‘personal reasons’
Yaseen Anwar steps down from the State Bank of Pakistan top job after a family member suffers a serious injury; new deputy governor appointed to help grow the Islamic banking sector
Nigerian deputy says investment, not aid, will lead Africa to prosperity
Kingsley Moghalu, head of financial stability at the Central Bank of Nigeria, calls for ‘nationally defined' growth strategy and the ‘political will' to realise it
Central Bank of Venezuela sees third president in nine months
Nelson Merentes, currently finance minister, will return to the bank, which he led for four years before leaving in April; meanwhile, the finance and ‘banking system' ministries are being merged
Lautenschläger nominated as SSM vice-chair
The European Central Bank has nominated Sabine Lautenschläger as the vice-chair of the supervisory board; if appointed she will join Danièle Nouy at the top of the SSM
Head of the Central Bank of Nicaragua removed by decree
Alberto Guevara was transferred to a different, as yet unknown, position within the government last week; the general manager is standing in and the bank is expected to comment publicly on Friday
RBI report recommends inflation target under new monetary policy framework
Committee set up by Raghuram Rajan in September calls for formal nominal inflation target of 4% to be phased in over two years; also recommends sweeping changes to bank's organisational structure
Bank of Israel staff get bump in wages
Recently struck deal raises salaries by 1.78% and also increases wages retroactively for 2012 and 2013; governor Flug recently recieved 50% pay increase after push by former governor Stanley Fischer
People: Zambian deputy retires; Lautenschläger appointed at ECB
Bank of Zambia and Bank of Nigeria lose deputy governors to the ministry of transport and retirement respectively; Sabine Lautenschläger will join the ECB executive board on January 27
Bank of Italy slims down organisational structure
The central bank will consolidate its various operations into eight directorates general on January 27, in a bid to ‘streamline’ its organisational structure and decision-making processes
Kohn says Fed's independence 'at risk'
Former Federal Reserve vice-chairman Donald Kohn argues the institution's autonomy has been undermined by recent policies; lists four explicit threats in paper published by the Brookings Institution
Central banks in Israel, UK close in on new deputies
Bank of Israel governor Karnit Flug nominates academic Nadine Baudot-Trajtenberg as her deputy; UK Treasury begins process of replacing Charles Bean at the Bank of England
People: Malta gets second deputy; Lautenschläger aces European Parliament test
Central Bank of Malta gets second deputy governor for first time; Lautenschläger wins overwhelming majority in European Parliament vote; and more
‘Yellenomics’ – the second coming of Keynes at the Fed
Janet Yellen's confirmation is an historic shift toward a more activist Fed, a reinstatement of Keynesian economics and expanded government in general, writes Thomas Cargill
Nigeria's Sanusi to serve out full term after ‘reconciling' with Jonathan
Nigerian central bank governor and president said to put aside their ‘differences' after Goodluck Jonanthan reportedly demanded Sanusi's immediate resignation for allegedly leaking politically sensitive information