Reserves
IMF urges Sri Lanka to ‘modify’ international reserves target
Deputy managing director says international reserves remain below “comfortable levels”; central bank intends to continue building up reserves while allowing for “greater” exchange rate flexibility
Ukraine’s central bank calls for action against illegal forex dealers
NBU says authorities failed to act against 32 illegal operations in Kyiv; says it will publicise further information on unauthorised forex dealers
Ukrainian central bank proposes abolition of forex restrictions
The central bank’s multi-stage plan includes a draft law, despite political disputes
Some way to go for renminbi as reserve currency – Bundesbank's Thiele
Chinese investment markets should be opened up to foreign investors, Thiele says
IMF amends SDR calculation method
Exchange rates used to calculate SDR to be obtained from a commercial provider by the Bank of England, in effort to make methodology more “robust”
New high for reserves a sign of 'growing confidence' in Argentina – Sturzenegger
Reserves breach $40 billion mark after treasury bond sale and climbing export levels; contribution from overseas investment starting to be felt, government says
Rand volatility not driven by South African economic ‘surprises’ – IMF paper
IMF working paper finds that surprises in commodity prices, domestic politics and US economics impact the volatility of the South African rand rather than economic surprises in South Africa or China
Netherlands Bank to move gold and banknote operations out of Amsterdam by 2022
Highly secure location will house anti-counterfeiting and sustainable banknote operations
IMF lauds renminbi SDR launch, but some see momentum stalling
Fund officials praise China’s proactive approach to meeting SDR goals, but others warn progress on renminbi internationalisation may be slowing
BIS survey points to turnaround in global forex volumes
Latest survey suggests more than a decade of growth may have come to an end, as data points to a restructuring away from spot trades towards derivatives
Capital outflows look manageable as Iceland moves to lift controls – central bank
A “stress test” of potential outflows implies the Icelandic financial system and central bank reserves will cope when capital controls are lifted; the government bill prepares to release funds
China to create own version of FX code
A newly established Chinese FX Committee is working on creating a Chinese version of the Global Code of Conduct, for domestic and foreign banks operating in the onshore market
PBoC gives World Bank green light as China’s first SDR bond issuer
World Bank to issue China’s first bond denominated in special drawing rights, in “landmark” step towards opening up Chinese bond market
Singapore’s GIC warns of lower returns in coming years
High valuation of asset prices and modest growth outlook points to lower returns in coming decade or two, GIC says; 20-year annualised real rate of return fell last fiscal year
IMF changes method for calculating SDR currency amounts
IMF will switch to new SDR basket in October, including renminbi for the first time; calculation will use new rounding methodology aimed at minimising deviation from weightings
Indian reserves climb to $360.2bn at end-March
Reserve Bank of India’s latest report on reserve management shows 2.8% increase over six months; two-thirds of foreign currency assets invested in securities
Bangladesh has more FX reserves than it needs, chief economist says
Biru Paksha Paul says Bangladesh only needs enough reserve to cover six months’ worth of imports, and it has now exceeded that; sees benefits from low fuel prices in recent years
A year of progress for Chinese reforms, but there is much still to do
Pan Gongsheng, deputy governor of the People’s Bank of China, writes about China’s growth prospects, RMB exchange rate reform and the past years’ stock market fluctuations
DMO will not change course after Brexit vote
Head of the UK Debt Management Office stresses principles of predictability and transparency ahead of gilt auctions next week; market reaction to S&P’s downgrade was “extremely muted”
Brexit wrong-foots some reserve managers
The sharp sell-off of UK assets following its decision to leave the European Union will create buying opportunities for others
Discontinuation of Libor would result in ‘significant systemic risk’, Powell says
Fed’s Powell discusses future of Libor; discontinuing the benchmark rate could entail “substantial losses”, he says
Renminbi investments to be included in Singapore reserves
Monetary Authority of Singapore says its investments in the Chinese currency will be included in official reserves “from June 2016 onwards”, now it is easier to repatriate funds
Steps still needed for renminbi to become reserve currency – BIS head of banking
BIS’s Zöllner considers whether renminbi will become reserve currency; continued modernisation of market infrastructure needed, he says
Nigerian central bank announces forex liberalisation
Nigeria’s central bank unveiled plans to make up to $2.5 billion available to the country’s non-oil exporters; currency will float from June 20