Central Banks
Liikanen adds voice to defenders of central bank independence
Bank of Finland governor calls value of central bank independence a ‘lasting lesson’ of recent decades; cautions that both fiscal and financial dominance represent threats
ECB paper models central bank liquidity provision
Researchers create model to find optimal level of central bank liquidity provision, by determining the most appropriate collateral framework
RBA cuts rates to record low
Central bank seeks to encourage rebalancing of demand as mining investment heads for peak; analysts see further rate cuts on the horizon
Weidmann: Eurosystem has 'stretched its mandate' to contain crisis
Bundesbank president says mismatch of control and liability is diminishing the responsibility of individual states and transferring the consequences of failure onto the European community
ECB’s Cœuré says it is time to think about exit from unconventional policies
Executive board member says time is not yet right to start withdrawing extra liquidity provision, but such policies cannot be kept in place forever
UK’s FCA faces serious challenges in meeting competition objective, survey warns
Industry survey highlights ‘scale of challenge’ for conduct regulator in promoting competition; says many measures taken so far may actually be anti-competitive
RBI cuts interest rate, while eyeing lower inflation
The Reserve Bank of India reduces benchmark interest rate for third time in 2013 to 7%; says there is ‘little space’ for further easing
Bank of Canada names Stephen Poloz as governor
The CEO of Export Development Canada Stephen Poloz is a surprise pick to replace Mark Carney; governor designate backs existing monetary policy framework and says inflation target is ‘sacrosanct’
ECB lifts ban on Cypriot ‘junk' bond eligibility
Rule suspension allows Cypriot government-issued or guaranteed debt instruments to be used as collateral in Eurosystem operations; follows precedent set for Greece in September 2012
Bundesbank paper examines dynamics of crisis repo funding
Discussion paper finds changing pattern of fund management during global financial crisis, as ability of parent banks to protect subsidiaries dwindled; signals importance of strong capital base
ECB paper builds eurozone financial conditions indexes
Researchers confirm financial conditions differed across the eurozone before and after the crisis; gap shrinks when monetary policy variables are included in indexes
Fischer defends Bank of Israel over house prices
Bank of Israel governor tells parliamentary committee the central bank's interest rate cannot serve the interests of the housing market alone
ECB cuts rates and sets up ‘task force' seeking to promote SME lending
European Central Bank cuts benchmark rate from 0.75% to 0.5% by a majority decision; Mario Draghi says has set up a ‘joint task force' with the EIB to examine ways of promoting business lending
BoJ paper creates new framework for identifying monetary policy shocks
Working paper uses TVP-VAR model to identify the impact of conventional and unconventional monetary policy shocks on the real economy at the zero lower bound
Italians back using gold reserves to lower funding costs
A survey commissioned by the World Gold Council finds that Italians would support the creation of gold-backed bonds; sovereign bond yields fall further as new government is formed
BoJ minutes show thinking behind ‘extremely aggressive' easing
Bank of Japan monetary policy committee members were determined to grasp opportunity and make a clear statement to the markets, at meeting that heralded a new era in monetary easing
Bundesbank's Nagel calls for better data on European money markets
Joachim Nagel and Carsten Hartkopf from the Bundesbank's markets department advocate money market survey to better understand monetary policy transmission and give early warning signals
Pacific island countries cannot rely on external demand
IMF office in Pacific warns island countries the impetus from growth ‘will need to come from within’; urges central banks to keep inflation in check and promote external competitiveness
Carney says inflation targeting is worth salvaging
Bank of Canada chief says central banks’ limitations were revealed by the financial crisis, but inflation targeting is still worthwhile when supplemented by forward guidance and flexibility
Bank of Thailand prepares to counter rising baht
Monetary Policy Committee agrees ‘framework for exchange rate management’, but does not yield to government demands for a rate cut
Fed opens door to further asset purchases
The Federal Reserve resists recent talk of an exit from quantitative easing by emphasising that it could yet increase asset purchases; accuses fiscal policy of ‘restraining economic growth’
Osborne emphasises ‘support for growth' remit for BoE financial policy committee
Letter from chancellor to governor calls on FPC to give 'due weight' to its role in supporting economic recovery; call for consistent communications leads to speculation over divergent views on MPC