Central Banks
Technology provider of the year: BearingPoint
BearingPoint's Abacus/Regulator system is helping central banks cope with the vast volumes of data that come with new regulatory reporting requirements
Banknote and currency services provider of the year: Leonhard Kurz Stiftung & Co
The foil provider has developed cutting edge security features for some of the world's largest central banks in a bid to tackle ever more sophisticated counterfeiting
Transparency award: Bank of Israel
Bank of Israel has improved its already strong communications by holding press events after monetary policy announcements, releasing new financial stability reports and introducing forward guidance
Website of the year: European Central Bank
The European Central Bank built one new website and overhauled another in the year under review – adopting the best practices in responsive design and tailoring both for a mobile audience
Sarb deputy governor sees growing inflation risks ahead of MPC meeting
South African Reserve Bank policy-makers must assess ‘very carefully’ whether its stance remains appropriate, Mminele says; MPC meets January 21
BoE moves to close bonus clawback loophole
Under new proposals, banks will no longer be able to circumvent malus and clawback rules by buying out new employees’ bonuses
Europe needs ‘consistent’ policy on solvency issues, Lautenschläger argues
Decisions needed on whether the SSM has competence in solvency issues currently dealt with at national level, Lautenschläger argues; calls for reform to ‘routine’ decisions process
SNB’s Zurbrügg lays out considerations around interventions
Vice-chairman of governing board says there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ method for deciding when or how to intervene in the foreign exchange market
Monetary policy easing increases systemic risk-taking, paper finds
Brazilian domestic monetary policy is more statistically significant in this regard than foreign monetary policy, working paper suggests
Survey data offers chance to assess eurozone macro-prudential policies, paper argues
Data from the eurozone’s Bank Lending Survey can be used to analyse the effectiveness of different macro-prudential policies, an IMF working paper argues; subject is little known, researchers say
RBI, BIS gain access to China interbank foreign exchange market
Second batch of official investors receive permission to trade FX spot and derivatives onshore; MAS and BoK also among the seven institutions
Senate blocks proposal to conduct ‘full audit’ of the Fed
‘Audit the Fed’ bill fails to secure support needed to proceed to Senate floor; Bernanke joins ranks of current and former Fed officials warning of potential threat to independence
New bank business models could undermine stability, panellists warn
Panel including Mark Carney and Agustín Carstens raises concerns over the way regulation and low rates are forcing banks to adapt in unpredictable ways
Lockhart to watch inflation closely over the coming year
‘Mildly not wildly’: Atlanta Fed president remains optimistic for 2016 outlook, adding rate hikes not likely to occur at every meeting
Villeroy de Galhau and Fischer express caution over inflation target change
There could be costs to changing inflation targets in response to persistent low inflation, say François Villeroy de Galhau, Christian Noyer and Stanley Fischer
Hungarian central bank eases by scrapping deposit facility
The central bank announces the closure of its two-week deposit facility in April, in a move it hopes will lead banks to buy government bonds and lower long-term yields
Financial market risk being pushed into ETFs, Noyer warns
Central bankers must develop oversight of ETFs and similar securities, Noyer tells farewell seminar; must also convince markets and public of opposition to low inflation and deflation
Kaplan urges careful consideration of volatility
Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas president Robert Kaplan warns of the potential for further market volatility as normalisation continues
Mexico to ‘persevere’ in strengthening macroeconomic framework, bank deputy says
Deputy governor says effect of further normalisation in US policy ‘unclear’; Mexico to continue strengthening financial system
PBoC looks to expand lending programme for SMEs
Central bank to 'steadily advance' refinancing scheme as economy expected to slow further; Ma Jun clarifies PBoC's position on exchange rate fluctuations
People: Patel reappointed RBI deputy; Kocherlakota moves to University of Rochester
RBI deputy Urjit Patel gets second three-year term; Narayana Kocherlakota takes up economics chair at University of Rochester; Canadian governor to head BIS’s consultative council for the Americas
Brazil will adopt ‘necessary measures’ to control inflation, says Tombini
Tombini tells finance minister he expects inflation to return to midpoint of target range by the end of 2017; Brazil inflation breaches 10% for 2015
IMF supports tighter monetary policy in Mozambique
Rate rises are necessary to counter the inflationary pressures of currency depreciation, Fund says
Spanish paper models synergies between demand and supply policies in monetary union
Working paper model sees benefits in jointly implementing structural reforms in the ‘periphery’ of a union, with fiscal expansion in the ‘core’ and forward guidance on interest rates