Central Banks
Fischer urges peace in the Middle East
Bank of Israel governor Stanley Fischer tells state finance committee to find ‘partners for peace’; endorses high defence spending in state budget
MAS deputy highlights Singapore's growing links with the Middle East
Monetary Authority of Singapore's Lim Hng Kiang says cross-border Islamic transactions ‘set to take off’ as more Middle Eastern banks open in Singapore; growth potential ‘yet to be fully realised’
BoE’s Bailey sets out limits to central bank SME support
Andrew Bailey says central bank schemes such as funding for lending are restricted due to the presence of structural market failures
MBS offer portfolio benefits for some central banks, say CBP panellists
Mortgage-backed securities may offer reserve managers a higher yield and diversification benefits for their foreign currency holdings, according to panellists in a new Central Banking On Air debate
Pianalto says financial regulation should learn from monetary policy transparency
Financial regulation can benefit in the same way as monetary policy has from transparency and forward guidance, says Cleveland Fed president Sandra Pianalto
Policy-maker prudence can't help early warning efficacy, IMF paper finds
Working paper finds parametric early-warning systems are preferable to non-parametric; greater prudence lets policy-makers call more crisis episodes correctly, but at the cost of more false alarms
BoE reveals £300 million drop in FLS lending
Banks participating in FLS scheme reduced their net lending by £300 million in the first quarter of 2013; Bank of England predicts ‘gradual’ increase throughout year
IMF prescribes faster eurozone progress for both Spain and Germany
IMF teams report progress being made in both Spain and Germany, though sluggish progress on banking union could stop both economies from bouncing back more quickly
French paper evaluates forecasting strategies
Working paper says a predictive model that combines information sets is capable of outperforming alternative models that combine forecasts; tests models on French GDP data
Kansas City Fed article finds markets anticipated QE announcements
Article in the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City’s latest economic review says that markets foreshadowed changes in asset purchase programme; may have affected long-term interest rates
BIS warns central bank easing is fuelling equity markets
The latest quarterly review released by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) finds that markets are ‘under the spell’ of central banks
ECB's Cœuré says international liquidity must be allowed to flow
The risks from financial protectionism outweigh those of negative spillovers that currently dominate the global debate, argues ECB executive board member Benoît Cœuré
Fed’s Yellen moots higher capital requirements for US banks
Janet Yellen says Basel III capital requirements may not be enough to end the too-big-to-fail problem; sizes up risk in the shadow-banking sector
IMF gives its verdict on Abenomics
Article IV statement gives ringing endorsement to QQE in Japan; says ‘spillovers' may have adverse near-term effect on neighbours, but will be offset by benefits of economic strength in Japan
St Louis Fed president launches new household financial stability research centre
James Bullard unveils new research centre that will focus on understanding links between household balance sheets, the overall performance of the US economy, and stability and upward mobility
EC recognises member state fears that FTT will hurt clearing
Tax liability could send CCPs "directly into insolvency" warn Czech officials in leaked document
Bank of Spain says slump reached ‘nadir’ in 2012
Annual report says recovery is in progress and should continue this year, but depends crucially on continued internal adjustments and the external setting
IMF paper proposes ‘more ambitious’ benchmark design
Working paper calls current benchmark designs ‘a legacy from history’; proposes own design to better represent actual wholesale funding costs
Protesters claim victory in ECB ‘blockade'
'Blockupy' movement targets central bank in anti-troika protest at austerity and democratic deficit
Vietnam bad bank to stimulate growth in NPL-ridden banking sector
Vietnam central bank aims to put banking sector on a stable footing to support growth, by taking non-performing loans into state-run 'bad bank'
Volcker calls for end to inflation targets
Former Fed chairman tells New York audience the Fed must have the 'backbone' to exit QE before it is too late; says no need for a 'specific target or target zone' for inflation
Colombian governor warns Latin America could be hit hard by end of US QE
José Darío Uribe says past instances of monetary policy tightening in the US have caused crises in Latin America, but argues the region is better prepared this time around
Bank of Greece report optimistic that banking sector has ‘weathered the storm’
Monetary policy report for 2012-13 says confidence is gradually returning as banks make repairs, deficits are reduced and the stabilisation programme remains ‘well on track’