Central Banks
People: RBI and Bank Negara Malaysia promote deputies from within
Indian and Malaysian central banks both choose senior officials from within the organisation to fill deputy governor posts; BIS appoints new secretary-general; and more
Sri Lanka appoints new central bank governor
Arjuna Mahendran leaves central bank after enduring a turbulent 18 months; president appoints economist Indrajit Coomaraswamy as his successor
Sale by Hungarian central bank challenged on transparency grounds
Hungary’s central bank announces it has sold a nationalised bank to three groups of private investors; defends process as ‘transparent’, but local campaigners question move
Lagarde encouraged Paris Club to broaden membership as South Korea joins
South Korea becomes 21st member of creditor country group; speaking at its 60th anniversary Lagarde stresses the value of expanding further
Releases of monetary data aid market rate expectations – paper
Working paper published by ECB shows releases of monetary data is helpful to financial markets in forming rate expectations
Sarb deputy sees reasons for ‘cautious optimism’
‘Green shoots of recovery’ are starting to show, says Groepe; several and more fundamental patterns suggest the economy is on the mend
Mexico hikes rates to stabilise peso depreciation
Bank of Mexico surprises markets with 50bp hike to stem currency depreciation; analysts see global risk factors contributing to exchange rate developments
Asian central banks shift bond funds towards local currency debt
Eleven East Asia-Pacific central banks agree to close fund for buying US dollar debt issued in the region and invest the money in local currency debt instead
Bhutan readies to sharpen ‘blunt’ policy instruments
Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan considering improvements to policy transmission; could involve new lending and deposit windows, departure from current base rate practices
DMO will not change course after Brexit vote
Head of the UK Debt Management Office stresses principles of predictability and transparency ahead of gilt auctions next week; market reaction to S&P’s downgrade was “extremely muted”
Monetary easing ‘likely’ required over summer, says Carney
Governor expects easing in wake of UK vote to leave the EU; announces additional weekly liquidity operations as part of response, but acknowledges limits to what BoE can achieve
Mersch stresses importance of democratic legitimacy in Europe
Executive board member at the ECB wants to see the decision-making process in Europe enhanced; calls for a “shared EU-wide identity”
Two banks fail Fed’s annual stress tests
Most bank holding companies pass the Comprehensive Capital Analysis and Review, but Deutsche Bank Trust Corporation and Santander Holdings USA pulled up for “substantial weaknesses”
UK must ensure there is no Mark Carney exit
Calls for Bank of England governor to step down must be resisted – Mark Carney represents a vital source of stability at a time of heightened uncertainty for the UK
IMF paper examines factors affecting US wage growth
US labour market changing “more fundamentally” than before, author finds; wage growth expected to accelerate in near term
Reasons to be optimistic after Brexit
Both the UK and Europe can turn Brexit to their advantage, despite all the negative media reports
Central bank should consider sticky-price inflation as target variable – paper
South African working paper argues central bank should consider sticky price inflation as target variable; sticky prices more persistent and less volatile
EBA chair calls for ‘deep-rooted changes’ in bank culture
Andrea Enria, writing in the Directory of Financial Regulators 2016, says more must be done to confine episodes of misconduct to the past
People: Sarb gets new comms head; Bulgaria and Portugal welcome new board members
Jabulani Sikhakhane joins South African Reserve Bank; Bank of Bulgaria gets new board member, while Bank of Portugal gets two
State Bank of Pakistan sees financial sector ‘flourish’
Financial stability review highlights record after-tax profit and high capital adequacy ratio, as well as improvement in asset quality
Eastern Caribbean ACH enters second phase of implementation
ECCB annual report sets outs progress so far; electronic payments and US dollar cheques to be processed through the Eastern Caribbean Automated Clearing House
Sweden’s FI gauges impact of debt-to-income limit
Financial regulator tries to attach values to the growth and stability impact of DTI limits, one potential tool for tackling rising household indebtedness