Central Banks
Fed paper sets out model of financial panics
Mark Gertler, Nobuhiro Kiyotaki and Andrea Prestipino examine banking panics in a DSGE model
Macro-pru tools helped offset taper tantrum – paper
Macro-prudential measures helped reduce the impact on cross-border lending growth, say authors
FOMC will lose two dissenting doves in 2018
Kashkari and Evans were the only members who voted against the last rate rise on December 13
One big bank falls short of ECB’s capital requirements
One bank falls short and a second comes close, although five banks failed the test in 2016
CNB ramps up financial stability department role
Central bank “elevates” the department in its governance structure to reflect its growing importance; hikes countercyclical buffer amid lending boom
UK households pessimistic about fortunes in 2018
Survey published by BoE reveals UK households do not expect an improvement in their financial positions in the coming year
Bank Indonesia to nudge more people to open bank accounts
The country aims to boost the percentage of the population with bank accounts to 75% by 2019
Ukrainian central bank warns over ‘lengthy delay’ to IMF aid
National Bank of Ukraine calls for urgent action on state-owned banks; governor’s post remains unfilled
Lagarde warns of recessions in African economies
Some countries’ GDP due to shrink despite headline growth, IMF chief warns
Iran needs financial sector reform – IMF staff
Central bank should have greater independence and supervisory powers, urge IMF staff
Bank of Canada is focusing on household debt levels, governor says
Governor says levels of debt keep him awake at night
HKMA offers fast-track model vetting in swaps hub pitch
Streamlined process could take just six months, says official
MAS expands consumer debt management toolkit
New measure caps “unsecured credit” that banks can offer indebted borrowers; it is a “pre-emptive measure”, says MAS official
Google’s Hal Varian on how technology is changing economics
Google’s chief economist talks to Christopher Jeffery about how big data and machine learning are facilitating changes in economic thinking; discusses the impact technical breakthroughs may have for central banks
Paper looks at EU attempt to increase capital supply to SMEs
Measure introduced in CRR has benefited medium but not small businesses, researchers say
EBA publishes NPL standards in bid to foster market
Reporting templates ask for granular data in bid to establish EU dataset
Russian central bank bails out country’s ninth-largest lender
Move is sign of continuing squeeze on private banks, observers say; Bank of Russia also cuts policy rates for fourth time in 2017
Bank of Mexico hikes rates as inflation rises
Central bank resumes tightening path as Mexican economy faces trade and currency challenges
Fed backtracks on CCAR cleared swaps exposure
Regulator had also postponed plan to feed cleared client exposure into G-Sib rankings
SNB keeps accommodative policy unchanged
Central bank acknowledges Swiss franc’s depreciation, but still considers the development “fragile”
Credit no longer supporting Chinese growth – research
China’s economy has become “saturated with credit”, argues IMF research paper, with fiscal stimulus primarily boosting manufacturing
Google chief economist Hal Varian offers machine-learning insights
Varian says use of single-factor equilibrium models needs to give way to dynamic state approaches; he urges central banks to experiment, even though this will result in some failures