Central Banks
Jamaica successfully restarts bond market, governor says
Government debt issuance in February was oversubscribed; Wynter hopes surplus liquidity will continue to increase, helping to accommodate ‘crowding-in’ of private investment
Bank of Portugal director responsible for banking supervision resigns
Board member with responsibility for banking supervision resigned on March 7; Antonio Varela had previously been state-appointed non-executive director on troubled bank Banif
Brainard warns of segmentation of liquidity
Recent changes in liquidity practices may heighten financial markets’ vulnerability in stressed conditions, Brainard says; downward pressures on inflation remain, she adds
RBA’s Lowe says productivity still a problem
Australia has proven resilient through an uncomfortable rebalancing phase, but the economy is still plagued by disappointing productivity growth, deputy governor says
NY Fed says ‘no evidence’ systems breached
Spokeswoman says there is “no evidence” of attempts to penetrate Federal Reserve systems, amid reports saying Bangladesh Bank was concerned funds were stolen from its account
Slovakian central bank boosts provisions for financial risks
National Bank of Slovakia records gross profit of €144.6 million in 2015, as both income and operating costs fall
People: New York Fed research head retires, RBNZ appoints new head of currency
James McAndrews will leave the Federal Reserve Bank of New York after 19 years; Steve Gordon gets new portfolio at RBNZ; and more
BoE’s Brazier values flexibility with bank buffers
Alex Brazier says Bank of England will have a bias towards ‘acting early and gradually’ on capital buffers; will not look for “irrefutable proof” of bad events
Carney locks horns with MPs on EU stance
Bank of England maintains neutral stance on the issue, despite coming under fire from members of the committee; Carney and Cunliffe defend independence
BIS paper: short-term interest rate may no longer be enough to set policy
Globalised debt markets, the falling long-term interest rate and dollar debt accumulation has altered every major aspect of the monetary transmission mechanism in emerging markets, authors say
Bundesbank publishes data on German ‘closed-end’ investment funds
Deutsche Bundesbank begins publishing data on German ‘closed-end’ investment funds; sector had total assets of €82.4bn in January 2016, with nearly half of investments in property market
Angola appoints new governor as de Morais departs
Silva takes over from de Morais as part of a government reshuffle; has previously provided counsel to country’s vice-president
Institutions agree to mission to check on Greek reforms
Representatives of European and international institutions have agreed to send a team to Athens to check on reform progress; visit is necessary to allow bail-out to continue
Ukraine eases domestic currency and forex restrictions
Ukraine’s central bank loosens restrictions on foreign and domestic currency deposit withdrawals; Gontareva says Ukraine is on track to hit inflation targets but warns of political risks
Central banks running out of room amid turbulence, BIS warns
Confidence in central banks is “faltering” as policies prove impotent, while negative rates erode bank profitability and debt levels weigh on global growth
Regulation affects pass-through to current account, BoE paper finds
Discussion paper sets out theoretical and empirical backing for idea that low rates can cause a current account deficit to grow, in the presence of liberalised financial markets
Securitisation can dampen business cycles, paper finds
When securities are bought by ‘non-financial agents’ instead of financial intermediaries, they can help dampen rather than amplify cycles, research says
Renminbi to be identified in IMF Cofer database
IMF countries able to record renminbi holdings from October; inclusion in database recognises "continuing internationalisation" of currency, staff say
Report finds 11% of Rwandans remain financially excluded
Women and younger people more likely to be financially excluded; share of population excluded falls from 28% to 11%
IMF welcomes Indian inflation progress, but RBI should ‘stand ready’
IMF welcomes progress made with inflation targeting in India; calls for “growth-friendly” fiscal consolidation to support monetary policy
Kaplan to ‘closely monitor’ debt and ageing demographics in line with growth
Dallas Fed president will also look to other major economies throughout 2016 for patterns that may affect growth; the Federal Reserve will need to be patient, he says
People: Georgian central bank nears new governor, RBI appoints executive director
Georgian parliament approves president’s nominee for governorship, now central bank board must do the same; Kanungo becomes newest executive director of the RBI; and more
Zeti plays down Chinese problems at 2016 Central Banking Awards
Lifetime achievement recipient discusses monetary policy ‘over-reliance' and gender in fireside chat with editor-in-chief Christopher Jeffery
Poland nominates Belka as EBRD president
Poland’s government proposes central bank governor Marek Belka as president of the EBRD and appoints his nominee to the central bank’s board