Central Banks
Booknotes: The Federal Reserve and the Financial Crisis
This volume is based on the transcripts of four lectures from a series delivered by the chairman of the Federal Reserve Board at George Washington University in the spring of 2012
Booknotes: Bull By the Horns: Fighting to Save Main Street from Wall Street and Wall Street from itself
This is a great book with a clear message: no more bailing out of too-big-too-fail banks.
Booknotes: The Leaderless Economy: Why the World Economic System Fell Apart and How to Fix It
The title of Peter Temin and David Vines’ book, especially its subtitle, promises the reader a lot
Bank of Spain financial stability report finds ratio of bad loans still growing
Contraction in new lending to households and businesses, combined with a poor macroeconomic environment, means Spanish bank loan books are on average not improving
NY Fed paper assesses risk of fire sales in tri-party repo markets
Staff report finds limited tools are available to reduce the damage from pre-default fire sales but says there are no options currently available once a default has occurred
People: New director-general at Bank of Italy; Bank of Israel adviser ends 30-year tenure
Salvatore Rossi becomes Bank of Italy's director-general; Barry Topf leaves Bank of Israel after 30 years; and more
IMF paper scrutinises ‘procyclicality’ in reserve management
Over half of central bank reserve managers surveyed by IMF say they would alter practices to reduce procyclicality; paper questions reliance on credit rating agencies
Australian regulators unveil criteria for mandatory clearing
Three regulators, including the RBA, reveal how they will decide whether and when to implement mandatory clearing requirements for OTC derivatives
European rates: UK and Norway on hold as Denmark and Poland cut
Bank of England marks time ahead of Mark Carney’s arrival and Norges Bank keeps policy steady, while Denmark and Poland take action
Korean rate cut follows global trend but takes analysts by surprise
Base rate cut of 25 basis points by Bank of Korea aims to boost inflation and employment, and halt the Korean currency's rise against the yen
BoJ paper suggests models may misrepresent impact of easing at ZLB
Working paper questions why many studies in monetary economics use model that does not account for zero lower bound; finds model tends to underestimate term premia
RBI paper scrutinises monetary policy transmission
Research analyses strength of monetary policy transmission in range of Indian financial markets; says it is conducted most effectively to money markets but has ‘limited’ influence on stock markets
Asmussen and Rehn sketch plans for European body to replace ‘troika'
ECB board member defends scale of emergency liquidity extended to ‘insolvent' Cypriot banks; confirms the bank has an open mind on ABS purchases to ease SME credit crunch
Mersch lists monetary policy dos and don'ts
ECB board member tells Luxembourg audience monetary policy should take responsibility for ‘averting Armageddon', but there are limits to what it can do
Korea paper warns developing economies over financial openness
Research suggests open capital markets in developing economies create output volatility; suggests Asian countries are the least stable in a crisis
RBI sees scope for Giro payments system
Committee finds India’s existing payments system fails to meet consumers’ needs when paying bills; proposes a supplementary system to move bill paying onto a single interoperable platform
Taiwan central bank chief sets out priorities for new ADB president
Fai-Nan Perng says new Asian Development Bank head must build on the successes and correct the failings of the institution
Bundesbank paper finds some banks can improve stability via income diversification
Discussion paper says move into non-interest income sources stabilises smaller and more retail-orientated banks, but destabilises investment banks
Philippines central bank braces for impact of rating upgrades
Central bank says it is ‘vigilant’ to asset bubbles resulting from country’s upgrade to investment grade status by two of the three main rating agencies
Former BoE policy-makers demand action from Mark Carney
John Gieve says Carney is likely to introduce conditional forward guidance and expand QE; Rachel Lomax backs FPC remit that requires a “consistent message” among its members
RBNZ intervenes in forex and hits bank capital
Central bank boosts mortgage lending capital requirements and sells New Zealand dollars to ‘take the tops off rallies’; economy faces low inflation but strong dollar and overheating housing market
IMF paper examines emerging market counter-cyclical monetary policy
Emerging markets should target inflation for its counter-cyclical benefits as well as output variability, researchers find
European Commissioner defends under-fire Tobin tax
Algirdas Šemeta says the European Commission’s proposal for a financial transactions tax is ‘technically and legally sound’; numerous stakeholders concerned by impact on repo markets