Central Banks
ECB and Macedonian central bank complete co-operation programme
ECB's Jörg Asmussen says in Skopje that a strong EU has to be based on strong national institutions; report finds Macedonian central bank ‘equal or close to EU standards in many areas'
Fed and FDIC agree 6% leverage ratio for US Sifis
Banking agencies announce rules to increase organisations' leverage ratios; measures remain controversial with the banking lobby and regulators, notably FDIC's Hoenig
Early-warning indicators needed to address failings in Solvency II - PRA chief
Effective and prudent solution needed on Solvency II matching adjustment, says Bank of England deputy governor Andrew Bailey
Fed's Williams argues for 'muted' monetary policy in uncertain economic times
Reserve Bank of San Francisco governor John Williams has examined the 'implications of uncertainty about the effects of monetary policy for optimal monetary policy'
Banque de France launches mobile app
Users can access key statistics, speeches, news and other information from the French central bank through their mobile phone
Governments must not ‘scapegoat' financial markets, says Noyer
The power the financial markets have over states is due to weak regulation and governments' over-reliance on them to finance sovereign deficits
Banknote counterfeit threat carries significant social costs, paper finds
Bank of Canada working paper shows central banks are right to ‘actively respond' to the threat of counterfeiting despite the small incidence of fraud, due to the social costs of the perceived threat
Inflation-targeting central banks respond to movements in the Fed funds rate, new research shows
A CPI inflation-based Taylor rule can implement flexible price allocation under some specific circumstances, authors say
IMF's Lagarde supports negative rates in eurozone
IMF Article IV for the eurozone backs Draghi promise to keep rates low and says negative rates would support demand and ward off deflation; ECB chief concerned that financial transactions tax will hurt monetary policy efficacy
ECB researchers find evidence for ‘bank liquidity risk channel' for monetary policy
Non-standard policy at the ECB and the Fed has lowered bank funding volatility and increased the supply of loans, acting as an additional channel of monetary policy transmission
Central Bank of Egypt seeks help at home and abroad to shore up currency reserves
CBE governor wins $3bn in grant and interest-free loans from the UAE; bank launches ‘Egypt support' fund amid political unrest
Challenges remain despite 'calmed' markets, says National Bank of Austria
Financial stability report published on Monday shows Austrian growth stalled in the second quarter of 2012 following a concurrent decline in demand for bank loans and a tightening of credit standards
Renminbi convertibility remains top of Chinese reform agenda – HSBC
Chinese authorities interested in ‘quality’ rather than ‘quantity’ of renminbi growth; expected to push through reforms to achieve convertibility in 2015, says senior HSBC executive
Cœuré says banking union vital to avoid a ‘lost decade' in Europe
Europe must act to break the sovereign-bank nexus and deal with zombie banks if it is to avoid a Japan-style decade of stagnant growth; backs ECB monetary policy to work toward this objective
Euro bank lending conditions were ‘softened’ ahead of crisis, ECB paper shows
Authors also found evidence of excessive risk-taking for mortgages loans
No ‘credit crunch' in the Middle East after Basel I, IMF paper finds
Despite higher capital adequacy ratios, banks expanded credit and asset growth, according to new research
Central Bank of Turkey in aggressive move to defend lira
Central bank sells between $1.5bn and $2.5bn worth of foreign exchange, its highest ever amount in one day, in an effort to halt a slide in the value of the lira
Bank Russia to become ‘mega-regulator' with mandate for growth
New law set to be enacted in September will hand the central bank responsibility for almost all of Russia's financial system, and give monetary policy a broader mandate to support ‘sustainable growth'
Basel Committee finds ‘considerable variation' in bank risk-weights
Variation in bank risk-weights 'driven by diversity in bank and supervisory practices', says Basel Committee as it also moves to strengthen oversight of investments in equity funds
Euro's international role hampered by continued fragmentation
ECB study finds reserve manager confidence in the euro is recovering, but a leading fund manager says the euro cannot challenge the pre-eminence of the dollar without issuing federal bonds
Asian central bank FX reserves not properly recognised by rating agencies, says Sheng
CBRC adviser and former Hong Kong SFC chief Andrew Sheng points to inconsistent approach in sovereign debt ratings; doubts international crisis co-ordination is possible
Eurozone’s unique policy framework creates communication confusion, ECB paper shows
Political communication has a quantifiable effect on sovereign bond spreads – at least in the short term, authors argue