Reserves
European central banks strike new gold agreement
Central banks in the eurozone, Sweden and Switzerland agree to coordinate their gold transactions, but scrap the 400-tonne limit on annual sales
Canadian dollar holdings could be twice Cofer estimates – Bank of Canada
Study suggests IMF may have underestimated Canadian dollar's rise as reserve currency; growing global demand for government bonds has liquidity implications at home
Central American central bank losses smallest in 25 years
However, capital positions remain weak and would even be negative if claims on governments were valued according to cashflow, IMF study finds
Central banks and SWFs must upskill to face new investment challenges
Study commissioned by State Street finds central banks, sovereign wealth funds and public pension funds preparing for a broader investment universe
Former BoE staff clash over reserves accounting in Central Banking debate
Central Banking On Air debate panellists Charles Goodhart and Tim Young clash over the relevance of mark-to-market accounting for central bank reserves
Bar should be lowered for early warnings on currency crises, says IMF economist
Currency crisis early-warning systems should err on the side of flagging up more crises rather than less, even if this leads to an increase in false alarms
Seychelles makes ‘opportunistic’ FX purchases
Central Bank of Seychelles annual report outlines how it took advantage of foreign exchange inflows to bolster its reserves by almost 40% in 2013
Zöllner: Asset managers are biggest non-bank FX traders
Head of banking at Bank for International Settlements highlights growing role of non-bank market participants in FX
National Bank of Ukraine heads for IT regime following clear-out of senior staff
Ukraine central bank will institute an inflation-targeting regime, after the former governor was dismissed along with his deputy and two departmental directors
State Bank of Pakistan has 'critically low' reserves
IMF says Pakistan’s reserves position will remain critical even with ‘stellar’ programme adherence; urges changes to central bank law to boost independence
SNB board member speaks on ‘very limited' ethical investment programme
A desire not to move markets informs the SNB's decision not to provide details on its new ethical investment strategy, which will affect a 'very limited' number of companies
‘Seismic' renminbi internationalisation has a way to go, says RBA deputy
For the renminbi to be considered truly ‘internationalised', RBA deputy Philip Lowe says it must reach a situation where non-residents are willing to hold it un-hedged
SNB expands equity holdings in ethical investment drive
Switzerland’s central bank increases its equity holdings by $18 billion to $77 billion in 2013; refuses to invest in companies that cause 'severe environmental damage'
Reserve managers ‘obsessed' with short-term results, says Passacantando
Former Bank of Italy managing director says central bank reserve managers should take a longer-term view with their investment decisions
Reserve managers stress importance of portfolio transparency
Public report offering detailed disclosure of investment decisions results in reserve managers having 'little to fear', says the Central Bank of Colombia's Marco Ruiz
Banque de France ‘is active’ in onshore renminbi market
French central bank has invested in Chinese government bonds through the onshore renminbi market; Bank of England angles for London clearing bank
Bank of Zambia tries to talk down forex market ‘panic'
Bank of Zambia aims to arrest ‘panic' in foreign exchange market amid reversal of portfolio flows; hiked reserve ratio requirement on Monday in attempt to strengthen currency
Swiss upper house rejects initiative that would force SNB to double gold holdings
Proposal that would require central bank to hold at least 20% of total assets in gold is slated for referendum but political establishment is strongly opposed
Omani central bank chief still committed to dollar peg
Central Bank of Oman's Hamood Sangour Al Zadjali tells Central Banking journal the peg still offers 'substantial benefits' given Oman's economic structure
Central banks cut gold purchases by a third, as consumers pick up slack
Global demand for gold fell 15% in 2013 compared with 2012, as central banks slowed their purchases and ETFs made hefty divestments
Reassessing the sovereign investor nexus
As sovereign assets continue to grow, managers look set to adopt multi-asset investment approaches that are more closely associated with defined-contribution pension plans
Argentina lifts capital controls as peso's slide continues
Argentina lifts capital controls a day after central bank quits trying to prop up the currency