Central Banks
Sri Lanka seeks return of money offered at Indian shrines
Sri Lankan central bank seeks to repatriate estimated 20 tonnes of coins offered as part of religious worship in India
Tanzania hits financial inclusion target early due to mobile surge
Benno Ndulu says the number of adults with access to financial services has doubled in five years; describes mobile phones as ‘critical link’ between the unbanked and the formal system
The reorientation of central bank policy objectives
In this sponsored feature, Peter Warburton and Joanna Davies discuss how the policy challenges for central banks have been transformed in the aftermath of the global financial crisis
UK parliamentary report calls currency union with independent Scotland a ‘dead parrot'
There will be ‘no currency union of any kind - no ifs, no buts, no fudges, no deals', says chair of Scottish Affairs committee
SNB strikes deal to invest in Chinese bond market
Thomas Jordan and Zhou Xiaochuan establish new swap line in deal, which also permits the SNB to invest up to $2.4 billion in renminbi-denominated assets
French paper warns buffers ‘may not be sufficient’ to avoid credit crunch
Banque de France working paper finds an increase in market pressure to hold more capital can ‘limit the ability of banks to expand credit’ and trigger a crisis
Opinion: Carney’s dismissal of using monetary policy to resist rising asset prices is 'vacuous'
It is vital that politically independent central banks should work within a political vacuum, rather than adjusting their monetary policy reasoning to avoid subsequent political controversy
BoJ board members fear structural problems behind sluggish exports
A ‘few’ members of the policy board are concerned that competitiveness issues are to blame for slow growth in Japanese exports
IMF paper attempts to pin down output gap
Members of the Fund's European department build new models incorporating financial frictions to estimate the output gap in the US during the Great Moderation and beyond
People: Emefiele to chair key WAMZ committee; BIS appoints chief rep for Americas
Godwin Emefiele elected as chairman of the West African Monetary Zone’s committee of governors; Spanish economist Enrique Alberola Ila takes BIS post; more
Euro banknote counterfeiting rises 4.4% year-on-year
‘Europa’ series will not address forgery problem until 2015; Eurosystem central banks urge consumers to ‘look, feel and tilt’ notes to look out for counterfeits
Robert Pringle’s Viewpoint: Start policy normalisation now!
Policy changes are needed to reduce the chances of another recession
UAE central bank to put Braille on banknotes
Emirati authority joins Hong Kong in using feature rejected by the Bank of England and Bank of Canada, on the basis that not all blind people read Braille
Iceland governor included in three-man shortlist to replace him
Sitting governor Mar Guðmundsson is one of three deemed ‘very well qualified' to take the next term as head of the central bank
Former SEC chair urges US to accept use of NGAs for overseas swaps
Recent focus on US banks' use of non-guaranteed affiliates risks taking regulators down a slippery slope - issue could be tackled via disclosure instead, argues ex-SEC chair Harvey Pitt
BoE’s Cunliffe says leverage ratio is no mere ‘backstop'
Bank of England deputy governor says leverage and risk-weighted capital ratios serve different purposes; term ‘shadow banking’ casts a pall over productive aspects of non-bank financial services
Weidmann: ECB monetary policy has ‘done its bit', fiscal discipline must prevail
Deutsche Bundesbank president Jens Weidmann says central bank independence could be threatened by lax fiscal policy; says ECB is at 'outer edge of its mandate'
Lagarde: monetary and fiscal policy must nurture eurozone back to growth
IMF managing director Christine Lagarde warns Europe of vicious cycle of economic decline if low inflation, high debt and high unemployment persist
South Sudan to East African Community: ‘do not reject us’
East African Community sends 'high level technical mission' to South Sudan in first step of a accession process which it expects will be 'tedious'
IMF economist analyses effect of floods and storms on Caribbean debt-to-GDP
Both storms and floods have a negative effect on growth, IMF economist finds, but only floods affect debt in the natural disaster-hit region
Fed's Fisher warns macro-prudential ‘Maginot Line' will not keep out another crash
Dallas Fed president Richard Fisher says macro-prudential policy will not be enough to preserve financial stability - calling for a shrinking of the Fed's balance sheet starting in October
Riksbank minutes reveal dispute over IMF and BIS advice
Top Swedish central bankers debate the relevance of IMF and BIS advice for monetary policy to fight financial instability; question value of input from officials that do not set policy themselves