Central Banks
Riksbank submits proposal to transfer allocation of profit to Treasury
Swedish central bank plans to transfer Skr7.5 billion to Treasury; full plan to be revealed at end of March
UK banks miss 'Project Merlin' lending targets
Results of 'Project Merlin' show bank net lending fell in 2011; major banks missed targets for lending to smaller businesses
Japanese public offers opinions on economic conditions
Bank of Japan publishes results from most recent public opinion survey; many expect to see economic conditions worsen in next 12 months
Central Bank of Ireland reveals enforcement priorities
Irish central bank tells financial service providers what it will focus on in terms of enforcement actions in 2011; warns reactive enforcement will also occur outside of set priorities
Kuwaiti governor resigns after 25 years as chief
Sheikh Salem AbdulAziz Al-Sabah resigns after a quarter of a century as governor of the Central Bank of Kuwait; reports point to political tensions as cause
Solomon Islands warns of counterfeits and announces new coins
Solomon Islands public warned about counterfeit banknotes in circulation; central bank also announces new coins to be issued
New South African banknotes will portray image of Mandela
First democratically elected president of South Africa honoured in currency redesign; new notes expected by the end of 2012
Central Bank of Iraq signs off plan for new headquarters
Central Bank of Iraq finalises agreement with Zaha Hadid Architects to design new office headquarters in central Baghdad
Central banks find novel uses for old banknotes
Central Bank of Ireland makes old notes into artwork; National Bank of Hungary offers the decommissioned banknotes to charities to burn for heating purposes
Shirakawa warns against renewed risk of spillover effects from Europe
Bank of Japan governor Masaaki Shirakawa says Asian banks should pay careful attention to deleveraging by European financial institutions; calls for further efforts to develop corporate bond markets in the region
Azerbaijan central bank deputy governors up for reappointment
Candidates for roles of first and two other deputy governors revealed as existing board members; appointments require full parliamentary support
EBA makes first assessment of banks’ capital plans
European Banking Authority receives recapitalisation plans from majority of banks highlighted in capital shortfall assessment; confirms no EU-wide stress test until 2013
Stock markets react strongly to news about Greek bailouts, says Netherlands Bank paper
Netherlands Bank study says news about Greek bailouts rather than Greek fundamentals have a significant effect on bank stock prices
SF Fed’s Williams supports buying-up mortgage-backed securities
Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco president John Williams says restarting the Fed’s programme of purchasing mortgage-backed securities is the best way to boost the US economy
ECB approves collateral eligibility criteria of seven Eurosystem central banks
European Central Bank leaves interest rates unchanged but confirms plans to relax collateral criteria for credit claims at seven Eurosystem central banks, including Banque de France
BoE boosts QE by £50 billion
Bank of England increases the size of its Asset Purchase Programme to £325 billion as forecasts show inflation in the UK is likely to undershoot its target in the medium term
Brazil deputy governor positive about economic future
Aldo Mendes says Brazil is prepared to face global economic deterioration; expects to see final growth figure of 3% for 2011 announced soon
SNB announces year-long delay on new banknotes
Problems with suppliers mean the new Swiss banknotes will not enter circulation until the end of 2013 at the earliest; latest hiccup in long process of renewing the currency