Central Banks
Draghi points to ECB action next month
European Central Bank holds rates but is ‘comfortable’ with the prospect of easing monetary policy following next month’s economic forecasts
New Riksbank data finds household debt higher than previously thought
Study by the central bank puts average debt ratio for households with mortgages at 313%, roughly double the official national average
IMF pushes Kazakhstan to modernise monetary policy
The National Bank of Kazakhstan should widen its exchange rate band and adopt ‘more effective’ interest rate instruments, the IMF says
Albania governor says lack of European co-ordination exacerbated crisis spread
Bank of Albania governor says big European banking groups can transmit global and European shocks to small economies in south-eastern Europe
Norway SWF axes JP Morgan as global custodian
Citi has secured custody responsibility for Norway's Government Pension Fund Global's $850 billion global equities portfolio
Jeremy Stein casts doubt on Fed's communication strategy
The governor, who steps down later this month, says he failed to appreciate how challenging communicating monetary policy can be before joining the Fed
RBNZ’s Wheeler threatens currency intervention
Graeme Wheeler spells out the Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s concern over its ‘overvalued’ currency, and says the central bank would consider intervening
Bank of Zambia holds seminar for local journalists
The Bank of Zambia held a three-day seminar for journalists at a holiday resort last week, impressing on them their responsibility to provide accurate information on the economy
State secretary takes over at Kyrgyz central bank
Head of the government’s economics department, Tolkunbek Abdygulov, is appointed acting governor of the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic at the age of 37
Iran takes transparency lesson from Azerbaijan's SWF
Iran's sovereign wealth fund managers travelled to Azerbaijan to discuss improving fund transparency and international co-operation
Yves Mersch says EU treaty change could entrench monetary and banking union
Changing the EU treaties could, according to Mersch, help strengthen the institutional framework underpinning the Economic and Monetary Union
Central Asia's central banks should shift attention to communication strategies – IMF
While some central banks in the Caucasus and Central Asia ‘require further development of instruments', others may ‘shift attention to communication strategies
Bank of Italy wary of emerging market risk
Italy’s central bank reports improving financial conditions in the eurozone, but remains wary of low inflation and emerging market slowdown
OECD urges ECB to cut key rate
The OECD chief economist calls on the European Central Bank to cut its main refinance rate to zero and prepare for ‘additional non-conventional stimulus’
Finland deputy: Banking union may 'exacerbate conflict' for national supervisors
Banking union is envisaged to lessen the role that national interest plays in bank supervision, but Pentti Hakkarainenin warns of potential short-term setbacks
Bangladesh Bank governor hails SME finance initiative
Central bank funding for SME lending has seen loans to small businesses grow in absolute terms, and as a share of bank lending, since 2010
Bank of Korea expresses macroprudential concerns
Bank of Korea says the financial system is ‘generally’ stable, but the corporate sector is struggling with static profitability and household debt is rising under some measures
BoE paper emphasises uncertainty over risk to argue for simpler regulation
Misguided ‘quest for ever-greater precision' in bank regulation is creating ‘ever-lengthening regulatory rulebooks' that are hard to communicate and bad at predicting outcomes
China should adopt new intermediate target for monetary policy, say IMF economists
Economists at the IMF analyse demand for money in China and conclude the PBoC would be better off targeting interest rates in the economy rather than monetary aggregates
Central bankers give mixed review of BoE forward guidance
One third of respondents to CentralBanking.com poll say the Bank of England’s second phase of forward guidance is an admission that its first attempt was a failure
IMF moves to unshackle programme countries' monetary policy
The Fund's move towards more flexible conditionality in support programmes is part of a bigger push, but some say it does not go far enough
BoE's Cunliffe warns of 'sustained and powerful pressure' on UK house prices
Deputy governor for financial stability says it would be 'dangerous to ignore momentum in housing market' and cautions that new prudential measures have yet to be tested