Governance
People: April to June 2025
A round-up of central bankers in the news and on the move during the past three months
Jobs, not prices, are main reason for dissent on FOMC – study
Votes show unemployment in presidents’ districts is of greater concern to them than inflation
Obituary: Stanley Fischer, 1943–2025
Fischer had a profound impact on central banking, as path-breaking academic and top policy-maker
Supreme Court ruling raises storm clouds for Fed
Decision to allow dismissal of agency staff without cause poses risks to bank’s independence, say experts
Slovak court convicts central bank governor of bribery
Kažimír must pay €200,000 or face prison for having paid an official to expedite VAT refunds
Auditors need to make friends and influence people – DNB official
Olaf Sleijpen says central banks’ internal referees need to improve their comms and people skills
Book notes: The political economy of central banking, by Alessandro Roselli
Roselli’s book offers a comprehensive history of the relationship between governments and central banks
Failure to appoint deputies ‘a step back’ – Montenegrin central bank
Bank will “continue to implement its mandate” despite parliament not approving its candidates
Central banks must rethink their accounting treatment of money
Biagio Bossone and Massimo Costa call for money to be accounted for as equity for the issuer and as a public asset for the economy
‘Chat Bankman-Fried’ has poor grasp of governance – study
Bank of Italy paper finds many LLMs would choose to behave in similar way to former crypto exchange owner
Knot calls for more diversity in financial institutions
DNB head says challenges demand “diverse perspectives” as bank aims for full gender balance by 2028
Hungary to change central bank law
Amended legislation would increase size of monetary council and ban creation of new foundations
BoE’s mandate may be too broad, warns Mervyn King
Former governor chats with Paul Tucker on independence and central banks’ optimal remit
Six in 10 at ECB do not trust Lagarde – staff union survey
Survey shows frustration at career progression, employment uncertainty and HR over past decade
Trump makes a U-turn on Powell
President “might” call Fed chair about lowering rates, but claims he never had any intention of firing him
Hungary’s central bank publicly clashes with opposition leader
MNB says unnamed politician failed to comply with inquiry; Tisza head says he is target of smears
Kashkari stresses importance of Fed independence
Minneapolis Fed chief expresses solidarity with Powell following Trump attacks
Trump administration escalates attacks on Powell
Kevin Hassett says White House is studying whether president can fire Fed chair
The implications of IFRS 18 for central banks
The new accounting rule on presentation and disclosure in financial statements may require changes in reporting practices and systems, complicating consistency and materiality considerations
Trump and Powell’s war of words escalates
Fed chair slams tariffs, while president says Powell’s departure “cannot come fast enough”
MNB to suspend controversial foundation
Ex-governor calls audit “smear campaign”; government blames ECB for not allowing closer surveillance
Governance Benchmarks 2025 – model banks analysis
Data breakdown highlights independence pressures, capital frameworks and staffing challenges
New Zealand slashes funding to central bank by 25%
Some of RBNZ’s non-legislative functions “appear overstaffed”, says finance minister