Central Banks
Currency Benchmarks 2021 report – executive summary
Perspectives on staffing, circulation, forecasting, note security and composition, outsourcing and more
IMF proposes Gita Gopinath for first deputy MD post
Georgieva hails chief economist’s move amid difficult relations with US administration
PBoC cuts reserve requirements
But easing measure partially offset by withdrawal of other liquidity support
ECB to choose new euro banknote designs by 2024
Banknote designs will be chosen by governing council, but public input will be vital
BIS calls for systemic approach to non-banks
“It is essential to reduce the need for emergency central bank support,” says report
BEAC raises interest rates
Central African states’ shared central bank imposes first hike in three years
Brazil’s largest state considers suspending Pix payments
São Paulo legislature examining payments system shutdown as an anti-crime measure
Podcast: Waking up to net zero
BNP’s Jane Ambachtsheer says central banks should not be held solely responsible for achieving net zero, but they have a significant role to play
Tackling surging inflation
Central banks around the world are grappling with rapid price rises, with some taking very different routes to one another
One in five central bank economists have a PhD
Central banks in Africa lag behind peers in sponsoring PhD programmes
Eurozone officials call for major fiscal changes
Stability and Growth Pact is hampering policy, speakers at ECB conference argue
Mexican senate approves new governor
Victoria Rodriguez will become first female governor of the Bank of Mexico
Quarles says Congress should rein in Fed funding
Former vice-chair for supervision calls for new body to wind down liquidity programmes
Kareem Michael to be new Belize governor
Former deputy governor will be third central bank head this year after predecessor was fired
BoE opens sharia-compliant facility after six years of work
‘Wakalah’ liquidity facility designed to address disadvantage faced by Islamic banks
Book notes: Empire of silver, by Jin Xu
A useful introduction to China’s monetary history, focusing on the last 1,000 years, but not the easiest of reads throughout
Covid-19 causes bigger growth forecast errors
But central banks perform better at forecasting inflation
Eurozone unemployment declines to 7.3%
Youth unemployment rate also falls but is much higher at 15.9%
RBNZ begins wide-ranging review of cash
New Zealand’s central bank warns of potential harm caused by “retreat from cash”
Monetary policy’s potency may wane over time – BIS paper
Low rates might cause aggregate demand to become less sensitive to monetary stimulus, authors say
People: Chilean Senate confirms board member
Plus senior appointments in New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and more
Economist salaries outpace GDP per capita
Salaries were six times higher than GDP per capita, on average
How Turkey’s president created chaos in economic policy-making
Observers allege presidential domination of the central bank, unauthorised FX transactions and untrustworthy statistics