Central Banks
Central banks remained net gold buyers in Q1
Rate of gold buying down on first quarter of 2020, as Hungary leads purchases
RBNZ does not have ‘adequate’ AML/CFT resource – FATF report
New Zealand central bank needs more AML/CFT resources and tougher penalties
Central clearing of Treasuries could cut disruption – NY Fed paper
Central clearing could have avoided most settlement failures during Covid-19 crisis, authors say
Singapore’s SWF starts work on cross-border payment network
JP Morgan, DBS Bank and Temasek say project will build on collaboration with MAS
Friends say Myanmar deputy governor still alive
Bo Bo Nge’s whereabouts are unknown but military junta denied rumours of his death this month
MAS and Bank of Thailand connect retail real-time payments
Transaction times will be reduced to minutes as opposed to one to two days, central banks say
Insolvencies could jeopardise EU recovery – ESRB report
ESRB calls on governments and banks to plan a smooth phasing-out of support measures
Iran’s central bank tries to unfreeze foreign assets
Governor seeks to reduce effects of US sanctions, but expert says nuclear talks will be key
ECB paper measures economic uncertainty in eurozone
Researchers present method to monitor changes in uncertainty in eurozone and its trading partners
Fed plays down US economic rebound
Powell says economy still “a long way from our goals” as FOMC holds policy steady
Australia, Canada and New Zealand form network for indigenous inclusion
Ottawa will host symposium on indigenous economics later this year
Central banks play growing role as local gold buyers
Purchase programmes can save resources, while helping to foster security and fairness in mining industry, report says
Tajikistan central bank announces rate hike
Currency devaluation in 2020 has added to inflationary pressure
BoJ forecasts weaker inflation but stronger growth
Inflation still negative in Japan but likely to inch above zero this year, forecasts suggest
Georgia central bank orders 100bp rate increase
Worsening inflation pushes central bank to raise policy rate to 9.5%
The evolving ‘strategy function’ in central banks
Some institutions participating in a survey of 27 central banks still struggle to fully harness an effective ‘strategy function’, according to the ECB’s Jean-Charles Sevet and Alejandro de la Cuesta
Foreign banks can reduce harm of ‘doom loop’ – ECB paper
Cross-border banks in eurozone countries soften effects of sovereign stress on credit
Riksbank maintains stimulus as it revises up growth forecasts
Swedish central bank says a return to negative rates is possible if inflation target is imperilled
BIS to operate sterling liquidity facility backed by BoE
Move echoes 20th century arrangements when BIS acted as intermediary in swaps network
Supporting Pacific islands should be ‘strategic priority’ for banks – Orr
RBNZ governor says banks must show ‘courage’ and provide services through good times and bad
Kyrgyz central bank hikes policy rate by 100 basis points
Rising commodity prices and currency worries bring second hike this year
Russian central bank raises rates as inflation climbs
Nabiullina warns that delay would mean that monetary policy would have to become tighter later
Leaked letter says Swiss authorities are investigating Lebanese governor
Riad Salameh is under investigation for allegedly laundering $300 million since 2002, letter says
IMF praises Chile’s Covid-19 response
Fund warns against new withdrawals from pension system