Central Banks
‘Crisis in the eurozone is not over’, says MAS chief
MAS's Ravi Menon offers a roadmap to central banks and governments to help ‘normalise’ the global financial system; hits out at loose monetary policies and says fiscal policy debate is misinformed
South Africa moves toward UK-style ‘twin peaks’ regulators
Sarb issues consultative document on introduction of prudential and conduct regulators similar to plans in the UK; IMF study encounters problems in testing efficacy of macro-prudential policy
Maldives governor urges government frugality
Fazeel Najeeb says ready availability of short-term treasury bills takes away the incentive for banks to lend to one another; lack of an interbank market is damaging monetary policy transmission
UK to ‘electrify' bank ring-fence in bid to end ‘too big to fail'
UK chancellor launches legislation to enforce ring-fencing – and separate banks that fail to comply
Former BoE MPC members divided on ‘maxed out’ easing
John Gieve, Charles Goodhart and Andrew Sentance disagree on whether the Bank of England has more scope to ease policy; Gieve says action at next meeting is likely
Chilean board members wary of low inflation
Chilean wage growth is outstripping inflation; board members show concern but hold rates
ECB paper tweaks the evaluation of early warning systems
Research proposes changes in the way the costs and benefits of early warning systems are calculated
NY Fed president calls for tri-party and money fund reform
William Dudley lays out a range of options to ‘make the basic structure of the wholesale funding market as sound as possible'
Fed research paper finds uncertainty more damaging at the zero lower bound
New paper finds the zero lower bound has exacerbated the effect of uncertainty in the ‘Great Recession'
BoJ target leaves Japan inflation swap market unmoved
Doubling Japan's inflation target has had a limited impact on the domestic inflation market
Rating agency warns of knock-on effect of Fed’s foreign bank rules
Fitch says tighter rules for foreign banks operating in the US are likely to make other countries raise standards as well, putting a squeeze on the growth of global banks
Barnier still examining ‘where to draw the line' on bank ring-fencing
Commission spokesman admits tension between maintaining competitive banks that can still finance economic growth and eliminating risks remaining in the European banking system
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe backs mandatory bank takeovers
Governor Gideon Gono says foreign banks must observe ‘indigenisation' laws, which force them to hand majority ownership to local people; foreign direct investment flight continues
Inflation unexpectedly plummets in Turkey
Year-on-year inflation falls from 9.2% to 6.2% between September and December last year; central bank ready to tighten rates if inflationary pressures are restored
Pakistan says Nato pull-back worsened rupee depreciation
State Bank of Pakistan annual report finds closure of Nato supply lines to Afghanistan contributed to a 9.1% depreciation of the rupee against the dollar in fiscal 2011–12
IMF research lends support to exchange rate liberalisation
Working paper concludes exchange rate liberalisation in sub-Saharan Africa ended a prolonged crisis and prompted a ‘strong and ongoing’ economic expansion
NZ governor wants ‘stand out’ policy
Graeme Wheeler says New Zealand’s economic growth is dependent on its ability to introduce internationally attractive policy
Malawi at risk in wake of currency devaluation
Financial stability report reveals inflation doubled after Malawian government floated exchange rate and devalued currency by 50%
Riksbank at odds with proposals to limit capital, analysts say
Proposals released that would halve the size of the Riksbank’s balance sheet; analysts say they clash with central bank policy and are unlikely to be adopted
IMF board split on quota reform options
Disagreement among IMF executive board members over whether more emphasis on emerging markets is needed, with ‘considerable support’ for increasing weight of GDP in quota formula
Efta court's Icesave ruling leaves European deposit insurance in tatters
Efta court move to dismiss deposit insurance claims on Iceland is a ‘Pyrrhic victory’ that throws the participation of small countries in the single banking market into doubt, argues Tim Young