Central Banks
External review of the RBA to begin next month – Lowe
Governor tells MPs the central bank wants to identify opportunities for improvement; assessment will look into operation and administration, not policy framework
IMF stays tough on debt relief as it prepares to return to Greece
Maurice Obstfeld and other top officials stress the fund’s demands on debt sustainability; mission to return to Greece next week
Delayed banknotes arrive in Venezuela
Thirty billion bolivars of notes finally shipped from Sweden, says central bank director; further denominations expected by the end of the month
BoE acts to tackle disparity in capital requirements
PRA plans measures it believes will boost competition and address adverse incentives generated by the standardised approach to calculating risk weights
Ukrainian central bank crackdown on capital flows to Russia
Governor says coal blockade may force central bank to take emergency measures including re-imposing exchange controls
Worrell’s woes: Barbadian governor battling on two fronts
Further evidence emerges on governor’s clash with finance ministry and board; Worrell worried about level of reserves and fiscal spending, while senior management complains of being marginalised
Shafik calls for candidness on uncertainty in her final speech
Outgoing Bank of England deputy says central banks must do more than just increase transparency if they are to restore trust
Fed could raise rates ‘fairly soon’ – minutes
Minutes show committee members will be watching labour and inflation data very closely; raising rates would offer “flexibility” in responding to economic changes
Basel III LCR affects RBI monetary operations – paper
Liquidity coverage ratio affects the central bank’s operational target via its impact on the unsecured overnight money market
Alan Greenspan says gold standard would have reined in debt
Former Fed chair says US would not be so indebted if it was on the gold standard; gold is the “primary global currency”, Greenspan says
Economic shocks more likely to spread within EU – new research
Researchers use new model to measure propagation of regional shocks in Europe
PBoC’s hike signals policy management shift
The decision by China’s central bank to raise a suite of interest rates around Chinese New Year marks a shift towards market-based tightening, argues Hui Feng
Target2 robust enough to withstand liquidity shocks – ECB study
Research modelled the effects of “extreme collateral deteriorations” on Target2 participants
Booms spill over less than busts – Riksbank paper
Financial booms appear to affect the real economy less than busts, suggesting macro-prudential policies will outperform “leaning against the wind”
Plummeting inflation prompts Bank of Zambia action
Central bank cuts policy rate by 150bp, in addition to a cut to the overnight lending rate and reserve ratio; inflation falls from over 18% to 7% in a matter of months
Irish deputy governor says Brexit will have negative impact on Ireland
Donnery says regulators must not allow “fragmented” supervisory system to emerge
RBI’s Acharya says India ‘urgently’ needs asset management company
New deputy governor says stressed assets must not be allowed to “fester”, sketching two possible designs for an asset management company
Mexico steps in to stabilise forex market
New derivatives contracts will be available to all credit institutions, with the first auction scheduled for March 6; a total of up to $20 billion will be allocated, central bank says
Broad sectors of Irish economy are ‘very connected’ – study
Irish research uses network analysis to look at sectoral linkages
Europe must strengthen money-laundering controls – EU agencies
Firms fail to properly implement AML/CFT policies, two-thirds of European national regulators say
Carstens agrees to stay at Bank of Mexico until December
Following a meeting with the Mexican president and finance minister, the governor will stay until end-November; BIS board approves the arrangement with general manager Caruana to stay until December
Sri Lankan governor appears before inquiry into alleged fraud
Critics allege malpractice involving firm owned by former governor’s son-in-law; local media report officials also worried by severe drought
BoE unlikely to predict next financial crisis, says MPC member
BoE MPC members grilled by MPs in forecasting models and past errors; Vlieghe says current models are just not good enough