Central Banks
IMF warns monetary tightening could hit EM growth
Advanced economies should collaborate with emerging markets, Fund says, to mitigate spillover effects of monetary tightening; says global imbalances remain too high
Spanish economists see short-run benefits in structural reforms
Working paper published by Bank of Spain says product and labour market reforms could boost output and employment now and in the future
Italy's Visco calls for more 'symmetric' monetary policy
Central banks should be prepared to tighten policy pre-emptively, Ignazio Visco writes in forthcoming Central Banking journal, in order to head off financial crisis
Hong Kong and Thailand link settlement systems
New link will ensure the simultaneous delivery of US Dollars in Hong Kong and Thai Baht in Thailand; HKMA’s Peter Pang says it creates a ‘safer’ environment for settling forex transactions
Senior deputy at Bank Indonesia handed five-year term
The decision to retain Mirza Adityaswara should provide some stability to the board of governors, after a turbulent 2013 saw two-thirds of its members replaced
Kuroda says ‘prompt action’ needed to address impact of demographic changes
Bank of Japan governor tells Asian policy-makers to face up to the problems created by a shrinking working age population ‘at an early stage’
Cross-border vulnerabilities should be taken more seriously, IMF paper says
Working paper says funding vulnerabilities ‘have real effects', although they have declined since the crisis due to lower exposures and increased capital levels
Credit cards account for more than half of all payment cards in the US, report shows
Credit cards accounted for 334 million of the 776 million ‘general purpose cards' used in 2012; Over 250 million mobile payments made using mobile wallet application, Fed study finds
Central Bank of Brazil lowers bank reserve requirements in bid to boost liquidity
Reserves held against deposits cut in half as CBB hopes to inject $20 billion into economy; move ‘seems to be aimed squarely at getting economy going ahead of elections', says analyst
Bangladesh Bank lays out monetary policy stance for the rest of 2014
Central bank aims at lower inflation and external stability through containing money growth and building up foreign reserves
European and Asian central bankers meet to discuss monetary policy spillovers
East Asian governors hosted ‘high level dialogue' with Eurosystem counterparts, and appointed RBNZ deputy Spencer to chair financial markets working group
Kazakh central bank fund seeks advisers on managing $110bn reserves
Consultants sought to help direct country's reserve management strategy and SWF's growth in the alternative assets space
IMF calls for clarity on BoE monetary framework ahead of first rate hike
Bank of England ‘will need to announce soon what its new monetary control framework will be', the Fund says, adding it is ‘waiting to hear' from the bank
RBI executive director says ‘multiple instruments' needed to stem EM capital outflows
Deepak Mohanty says drawdown of forex reserves, monetary tightening, and augmentation of reserves needed to dampen speculative flows
Central Bank of Turkey tells lenders to drop all euros from reserve holdings
Only dollars will be allowed as a substitute for liras in required reserves, central bank announces; lenders forced to sell €12.7 billion
Richard Cooper calls for monetary policy co-ordination to smooth global exchange rates
Harvard professor proposes internationally-agreed targets and gradual capital controls to mitigate worst effects of fluctuating exchange rates
Herding tendencies mean smaller banks won't solve moral hazard issue
Anticipation of bailouts encourages banks to invest alike, making bailouts more probable and crises more severe, Minneapolis Fed paper argues
Sovereign bonds offer ‘return-less risk' says GIC's head of fixed income
The returns on offer from the biggest sovereign bond issuers offer too little return even for the small level of risk associated, says GIC's managing director in charge of fixed income
Ethical investment may not mean higher returns, says Norway fund chief economist
Ethical investment is ‘consistent with earning good returns' and suits a long-term strategy, but there is no evidence linking higher returns with avoiding unethical sectors
BoE exec calls for enough GLAC to restore capital level above minimum
Banks that have undergone resolution ‘likely to need at least as much capital as other banks in the market' to command market confidence
People: Sri Lanka and Nigeria add new monetary policy-makers; and more
Sri Lanka appoints secretary to the monetary board; professor joins Central Bank of Nigeria's monetary policy committee; New York Fed announces 51 new appointments