Central Banks
Interest rate effects weaker at low levels – Borio and Gambacorta
Supply of loans becomes less responsive to policy rate movements when interest rates are already very low, likely due to impact on bank profits, authors say
Fed could shrink balance sheet to end “twist” on yield curve – Bullard
Allowing some bonds to run off the balance sheet could permit a more natural yield curve, St Louis Fed president says; San Francisco Fed’s Williams says a March rate hike expectation is “on the table”
New Barbados governor casts critical eye over public sector
Efficiency of services offered by the public sector needs improvement, says Haynes; current issues are a “great cost” to productivity
Czech National Bank reorganises supervision department
Bank says it will increase staffing of revamped division
Bank of Spain paper calculates implicit public debt thresholds
Researchers build on earlier work and apply models to Spanish data
Caruana: financial globalisation is not over
BIS chief says “peak finance” has not arrived, despite signs of a slowdown in global banking activity; warns against inward-looking policy-making
Basel capital surcharges are too low – Fed paper
Authors argue current Basel standards are not enough to guard against the failure of a global bank, particularly those reliant on short-term funding
Kazakhstan’s long path to inflation targeting
After a slow start, the National Bank of Kazakhstan’s implementation of inflation forecast targeting is beginning to mature. By Warren Coats
Cash is here to stay – SNB’s Zurbrügg
SNB official says reports of cash’s “death” are “exaggerated”; central bank has no plans to stop printing banknotes as its popularity remains
Norway’s oil fund delivers strong returns in 2016
Fund enjoys nearly 7% growth, with strong equity performance leading the way; strategy envisages work to improve efficiency and overhaul investment platform
Fed needs quarterly monetary policy report, Bullard says
St Louis president argues for better Fed communication when it comes to monetary policy decisions; a quarterly report would align the US with international best practice
Ukraine central bank: governor is not considering resigning
Local reports say Valeria Gontareva wishes to step down; NBU gives first custodian contract to commercial bank
Barbadian finance minister thanks Worrell, despite sacking him
Sinckler says government will “eliminate reliance" on central bank financing; gives Worrell lukewarm thanks for his time as governor
Hogg stresses readiness to resist groupthink at BoE
New joint deputy and COO says she is willing to stand up to Mark Carney after committee chair flags risk of “over-mighty governorship”
EC: regulators could adapt rules to protect bond liquidity
Official recognises regulatory hit to corporate bond and repo markets, but rejects Mifid delay
Bank of Italy paper looks at impact of monetary policy shocks
The impacts of eurozone and US shocks have diverged since the onset of the financial crisis, the working paper says
Sri Lankan finance minister accuses former governor of fraud
Ex-president and former central bank governor are both accused of “fraudulent management of public debt”
BoE paper raises risk of ‘bubbly growth traps’
Asset bubbles can direct resources to low-productivity sectors, which could explain the long hangover from recent crises, author says
MAS forms council to toughen corporate governance code
Ageing code of corporate governance needs to be updated to reflect best practice, authority says; chairman notes pressure on companies to become more transparent
BIS creates DLT analytical framework for central banks
CPMI working group lays out important questions for central banks when implementing distributed ledger tech for payments and settlement; access is a key concern