Central Banks
SNB vice-chair tells people to ‘fasten seatbelts’ following CCB activation
Jean-Pierre Danthine says activation of the counter-cyclical capital buffer aims to avoid a sharp fall in property prices and rise in defaults, but achieving a soft landing will be challenging
IMF flags growing risks from low interest rate environment
Global financial stability report urges caution by central banks employing loose monetary policy; says lack of adjustment to medium-term challenges could create ‘chronic phase’ of crisis
Fed demands more detailed 'living wills'
Federal Reserve and FDIC request additional information on risks that could derail resolution plans for largest bank holding companies, including issues of international co-operation
Draghi faces hostile Strasbourg reception but questions track record of SME lending schemes
ECB president grilled by European Parliament over the inability of small businesses to access credit; says action is 'absolutely essential'
Financial Stability Board demands faster OTC reform
FSB reveals that every one of its members missed the G-20 deadline for reforming OTC derivative markets; urges “rapid progress” in 2013
Cyprus president rejects Draghi concerns
Nicos Anastasiades tells ECB president that government is not interfering with central bank independence; stresses legitimacy of investigation into governor Panicos Demetriades
IMF's Blanchard warns Europe could drag world economy down
IMF chief economist says ‘three-speed’ global economy could be dangerous; World Economic Outlook urges central banks to keep policy loose but be ready with an exit strategy
RBA assistant governor says investment boom is inflating currency
Guy Debelle says the growing resource sector is being funded by capital inflows, which are contributing to a higher-than-expected Australian dollar
ECB’s Cœuré highlights US and Europe payments division
Executive board member Benoît Cœuré says credit cards play a larger role in the US payments industry; identifies benefits of expanding European debit card usage
ECB research finds exchange rate decoupled from fundamentals
Paper suggests euro exchange rate during the European sovereign debt crisis ‘danced to its own tune’, but volatility was impacted by politicians’ statements
Paper finds pro-cyclical labour market in the great recession
Researchers claim US labour force participation since 2007 violates conventional wisdom on acyclical behaviour
World Bank says east Asia and Pacific at risk of ‘overheating’
Asia-Pacific policymakers urged to consider withdrawing stimulus – fiscal and monetary – as region’s larger economies reach their productive capacity and face inflationary pressures
BoE’s Bailey questions why top managers not punished for failure
Head of prudential regulator says it is ‘more than odd’ that people lower down the ranks in financial institutions were punished for failures but not top managers; warns EU remuneration plans undermine UK efforts
Eurozone problems still ‘looming large’, says Draghi
ECB president Mario Draghi says ECB’s policy not affecting all eurozone countries; central bank cannot tackle root causes of crisis and urges improved competitiveness
People: Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago gets new deputy; Fiji management shake-up
Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago names Alvin Hilaire as new deputy; Fijian IMF secondment sets off managerial merry-go-round; and more
Colombian paper flags danger from abnormal credit growth
Credit expansion does not always imply excessive risk-taking, but abnormal credit growth causes greater risk-taking and contributed to Colombia’s financial crisis in the late 1990s, paper finds
Bundesbank research says sovereign default can be the best option
Discussion paper finds it may be optimal to choose a costly default over legal repayment, but only when a country is facing disaster
Central bank remits have little impact on policy
Bank of England MPC member says the weight central banks ascribe to output and employment makes little difference to the monetary policy they follow
French paper warns of banks precipitating crises through hoarding
Research develops new ‘domino effect’ model, examining how banks may bring about crises by attempting to protect themselves
New DSGE model finds anticipated 'low for long' policy can cause a boom
Finnish paper, inspired by US policy of the early 2000s, finds combination of too-low-for-too-long interest rate policy and optimism leads to an increase in overall leverage
BIS committee hails Basel III progress
In report to G-20, the Basel committee says member countries are making ‘considerable progress’ implementing Basel III, despite long delays; laments ‘excessive’ variation in RWAs
FSB review finds bank resolution regimes 'lack important powers'
Results of last year's peer review show many countries still need to pass legislation to empower supervisory agencies to resolve failed financial institutions effectively
Draghi enters fray to defend Cyprus central bank independence
ECB president warns Cyprus government against violating the central bank’s independence by dismissing its governor; says any gold sales should benefit the central bank ‘first and foremost’