Reserves
Renminbi cracks top-five payment currencies
Share of the renminbi in global payments increases to 2.17% in December, Swift data shows, pushing it above the Canadian and Australian dollars, and into the top five
Attack on Central Bank of Libya condemned by UN
United Nations criticises ‘armed attack’ of a central bank branch; institution is caught in the middle of a power struggle between two rival ‘governments’
Central Bank of Argentina uses PBoC swap agreement for external financing
With Argentina suffering a default in July and without access to markets, its central bank is drawing on a swap agreement with the PBoC to bolster its reserves
Reserve managers shun the euro, IMF data shows
International Monetary Fund data from the third quarter of 2014 shows a significant hit to euro reserves following negative interest rates
Russian central bank 'prepares' to recapitalise banks
Central bank announces package of measures to safeguard credit institutions from currency crisis fallout; finance ministry reportedly sells own foreign exchange
Bosnia central bank suspends nine after $380,000 theft from vaults
Prosecutor’s Office detains a central bank ‘clerk’ in connection with offence; money was supposedly taken in three chunks between 2012 and 2014
IMF paper suggests Peruvian forex interventions are asymmetric
The Central Bank of Peru has tended to react differently in the face of appreciation and depreciation pressures, research finds
Argentina’s central bank denies being an ‘alter ego’ of the government
Central Bank of Argentina lawyers look to dismiss a complaint from the holdout funds in New York, rejecting the notion the institution is an ‘alter ego’ of the Argentine government
Swiss public reject gold initiative
Referendum sees 77.3% of vote against forcing the SNB to hold 20% of its assets in gold, and prevent it from ever selling them; central bank welcomes the result
Netherlands Bank moves 122.5 tonnes of gold from New York to Amsterdam
Central bank will now keep 31% of its gold reserves in own country; move was designed to create a more even distribution of its reserves across the globe
Argentine governor says peso becoming more predictable
Central Bank of Argentina governor Alejandro Vanoli believes the peso is becoming more predictable due to his efforts to control the exchange illegal market
Dealing with an age of turbulence in emerging markets
Nigerian deputy governor details the options available to emerging markets when reacting to changes in developed-world monetary policies and associated fund movements
Assessing credit risk post-crisis at a central bank
Eric Wolfe explains how the Bank of Canada has developed its own credit assessment processes to avoid mechanistic reliance on credit rating agencies.
Czech currency intervention and forex reserves
Michal Skorepa and Mojmír Hampl explain how the Czech National Bank’s activities have directly and indirectly affected the value of the koruna, including the impact of direct interventions in 2013
Argentina enjoys a rare period of ‘currency peace’
Peso sees a recovery in the black market after the central bank cracks down; economists suggest a boost in dollar reserves is the main reason for the appreciation
Ruble rebounds as Bank of Russia lets currency float
Central bank abandons exchange rate regime after ruble weakens 45% against dollar in five months, says decision will lead to ‘faster adjustment of economy to external changes'
Bank of Russia caps daily forex interventions
The value of the ruble ‘will be determined predominantly by market factors' as of today, central bank says; former central banker describes move as a 'very big deal'
Central Bank of Argentina borrows $814m through China swap line
Argentina’s central bank has activated is currency swap agreement with China, and will receive the equivalent of $814 million in a move that will boost its currency reserves
Sarb’s Marais hails 'smooth rollout' of onshore renminbi programme
South African Reserve Bank trading government bonds, T-bills and bank bonds; deputy head of reserves hails support from PBoC on operational aspects of trading
Uganda eyes short-term foreign liabilities as reserves measure
Deputy governor Louis Kasekende says Bank of Uganda has begun to track reserves levels against short-term foreign liabilities such as portfolio outflows; details how QE has hit reserves income
The value of ETFs to central bank reserves managers
Exchange-traded funds have emerged as a means for reserve managers to gain access to new exposures and markets, but are they fit for purpose?
Bank of Russia to offer $50 billion through new FX repos
Russian central bank unveils new measures to boost short-term foreign exchange liquidity in markets, and will offer $50 billion between now and the end of 2016
SNB speaks out against 'gold initiative'
Swiss National Bank rejects proposals to prevent it from selling gold; Jean-Pierre Danthine argues that ‘currency reserves that cannot be sold are not truly reserves’