Central Banks
IMF gains bigger budget to handle economic ‘inflection point’
Decade of flat budgets hampered efforts to tackle “profound” macroeconomic shift, fund says
Majority of central banks only have one RTGS contingency site
More than half of institutions have had RTGS outages since 2020
Nigerian governor remains in office despite president’s call for resignation
Electoral commission also calls on Emefiele to step down over bid to become next president
Riksbank was right to use negative rates, say former central bankers
As ECB loosened policy, Swedish central bank lacked any credible alternative, Flug and Honohan conclude
Peru halves IMF credit line
Authorities say plan to phase out flexible credit line is mark of “very strong fundamentals”
Fed and foreign investors earn lower returns on Treasuries, paper finds
Foreign investors tend to buy Treasuries when they are “expensive and offer low future returns”
Costa Rican authorities tell president reserves are sufficient
Chaves had complained of “very few reserves” at Davos
Fed’s favoured inflation gauge falls
PCE inflation reading for April 2022 was down from March
Is this the end for ECB QE?
High inflation makes it increasingly difficult for the central bank to justify asset purchases across the eurozone, despite rising fragmentation risks
Many central banks plan RTGS upgrades in coming year
Over 80% expect to renovate systems within five years
Turkish central bank holds rates despite 70% inflation
Turkish lira reaches record low as central bank promises inflation will fall to 5%
Malawi devalues currency amid FX crisis
Reports say central bank has devalued kwacha by 25% as country’s exports slump
Finland’s payments must be ready for emergencies, governor says
Rehn praises public-private emergency partnership but calls for “even higher level” of readiness
‘Unconventional credit policy’ can help avoid lower bound – BIS paper
Liquidity injections can be useful tools but also face limits, authors find
Guatemala orders first rate rise in nine years
Board cites concerns about expectations but inflation remains within target range
Bank of Russia cuts rates again
Central bank says inflationary pressures are falling but economy faces considerable constraints
Philippines president-elect plans to move governor to finance ministry
Marcos nominates board member Felipe Medalla as next governor
Real house price growth slowing slightly, BIS says
Advanced economies still seeing price increases that are close to historic highs
Esther George to step down as Kansas City Fed president
George will retire in January on reaching retirement age, after 11-year tenure
Bank of Korea raises policy rate again
Policy-makers expect high inflation for rest of year
Book notes: The future of money, by Eswar S Prasad
Prasad’s book is the best on the topic so far, providing the most complete description of issues and factors that will shape the future of money
Paper explains why ‘Fed put’ is not as reliable as investors might like
Disagreement between Fed and market can create perception central bank is “behind the curve”