Central Banks
People: January to March 2023
A round-up of central bankers in the news and on the move during the past three months
SNB increases rates by 50bp in wake of Credit Suisse crisis
Swiss central bank sold Sfr27 billion in foreign currency in Q4 to tighten financial conditions
Brazilian MPC holds rates despite pressure
President says policy rate is “absurd” but MPC says expectations not yet anchored round targets
Costa Rica cuts rates, bucking Latin American trend
Argentina resumes monetary tightening, while Paraguay continues to hold
Three Asian central banks raise rates
Central banks in Taiwan, the Philippines and Hong Kong continue with monetary tightening
BoE tightens policy after inflation surprise
Hot February inflation figure prompted policy-makers to continue tightening
MAS set to build digital platform to tackle financial crimes
Central bank will develop an information-sharing platform with six leading banks
Central banks’ roles differ by national wealth
Few central banks have task of overseeing sovereign wealth funds
Fed raises rates 25bp and signals possible halt soon
Credit tightening may substitute for further rate hikes, Powell says
Lagarde lays out ECB’s data-dependent rate path
ECB president stresses bringing inflation to target is “non-negotiable”
Eurozone banks not directly hit by US stress, says Enria
Head of ECB supervision says mid-sized US banks enjoy more lenient stress tests
Yellen flags ‘contagious bank run’ risk
US Treasury secretary pledges small banks will gain 100% deposit insurance if needed
Most governments can change mandates without consulting central banks
Most jurisdictions’ central bank laws either limit or forbid monetary financing
ECB hails launch of new wholesale settlement system
Eurosystem’s new RTGS system and liquidity management tool went live on March 20
BIS paper lays out ‘two-regime’ model of inflation
Framework could help central banks recognise and respond to bouts of higher inflation
FedNow set to launch in July
Onboarding to instant payment system begins in April, followed by production validation
RBA says interest rate pause is on the cards for next month
Central bank says monetary policy is in “restrictive territory”
Central banks differ over board term limits
Nearly half of responding central banks impose no term limits on board members
How Finma milked Credit Suisse’s CoCos to close UBS deal
An unusual clause in Swiss AT1 bonds allowed them to be written off, but could others ever follow suit?
ECB questions Credit Suisse bond bail-in
Swiss government, SNB and Finma organise rescue of troubled lender that pays out to equity-holders
EME governors more likely to leave role early
Emerging market economy countries also less likely to limit number of terms governors can serve
Central banks step up dollar liquidity support
But initial auction results show little evidence of pressure on dollar funding
Apac central banks reassure amid Credit Suisse woes
Central banks in Australia, Singapore and Hong Kong say banking systems remain stable