Central Banks
Liikanen review calls for ring-fencing of banks’ investment arms
Report on reforming structure of EU banking system recommends separating investment arms from retail operations for banks with large trading operations
MAS head Menon outlines corporate governance challenges
Ravi Menon says a ‘culture of cynical greed’ must not be allowed to take root but that strengthening corporate governance should not necessarily involve creating more rules
Reserve Bank of Australia unexpectedly cuts rates
Board of Australian central bank lowers benchmark interest rate following weaker growth outlook as inflation falls further below target rate
New report calls for CCP resolution regime
Centre for the Study of Financial Innovation report recommends resolution regime for 'risky' central counterparty clearings
Bernanke defends Fed’s loose monetary policy
Ben Bernanke says Federal Reserve’s accommodative stance, including a third round of quantitative easing, is justified; denies Fed is encouraging poor fiscal policy-making
Colombian paper probes predictive power of expectations
Central Bank of Colombia study investigates the accuracy of exchange rate expectations during the past nine years; finds discrepancy between short and long term
ECB's Cœuré investigates collateral scarcity
Benoît Cœuré discusses rise in demand for high-quality assets in the eurozone and says changes needed if shift is permanent
BoE review estimates OTC margin requirements could hit $800bn
Bank of England review models the effect of OTC reforms on margin requirements; anticipates slow adaptation
Relative riskiness of alternative reserve assets falls, say CBP panellists
Negative real yields and credit concerns about some G7 currencies make alternative investments more attractive to reserve managers compared with five years ago, say CBP webinar panellists; role of gold challenged
Bank of Uganda rejects legal challenge over NBC seizure
Ugandan central bank questions the legitimacy of court order blocking its takeover of a commercial bank and the subsequent sales of its assets
European Commission criticises Basel Committee findings
Assessment report finds EU and US ‘materially non-compliant’ with some areas of Basel framework; European Commission questions report’s methodology and use of evidence
Former ECB board members say OMTs are outside central bank’s mandate
Otmar Issing and Jürgen Stark both criticise ECB bond purchase plans in separate interviews; Issing calls political union a ‘dangerous idea’
Uribe given third and final term as Colombian governor
José Darío Uribe is reappointed by the Board of the Central Bank of Colombia for a third term as governor; will retire from the post in 2017
Emerging markets in the dark over credit inflows, says Chilean governor
Rodrigo Vergara says the standard inflation-targeting framework may be unable to mitigate credit inflows; says there is uncertainty over alternatives
Contractionary monetary policy increases wealth spread, says Philadelphia Fed paper
Philadelphia Fed study considers impact of contractionary monetary policy shocks on different segments of the population; finds imbalance between the wealthiest and others
IMF paper examines eurozone current account imbalances
IMF study investigates causes of current account deficits in some eurozone countries; weighs up internal and external factors
Irish deputy governor calls for fiscal surpluses
Stefan Gerlach analyses different approaches to debt reduction; finds fiscal surpluses are the most suited to the current financial environment
Spain releases banking stress test results
Stress tests show Spanish bank recapitalisation needs close to level identified in tests earlier this year; paves way for restructuring and resolution of failed banks
Riksbank’s Ekholm says Basel III not enough for Sweden
Karolina Ekholm says Swedish banks are highly interconnected, raising the need for stronger and more diverse macro-prudential regulation than under the Basel III framework
EBA report finds banks €199 billion short of Basel target
European Banking Authority report details capital shortfall of largest banks in eurozone; calls for ‘significant effort’ to hit targets
Ugandan deputy governor explains decision to nationalise NBC
Bank of Uganda takes over commercial bank after prolonged period of losses; Louis Kasekende says there was no other choice
Zambian deputy governor wants greater female inclusion
Tukiya Kankasa-Mabula says improving female financial inclusion will help unlock higher growth potential; calls for women to take the initiative
Wheatley unveils details of planned Libor reform
Martin Wheatley’s final report recommends ‘comprehensively reforming’ Libor rather than replacing the benchmark; BBA stripped of rate-setting role