Central Banks
National Bank of Angola opens currency museum
The museum receives 2,000 visitors in its first four days; exhibits the history of the currency, from sea shells to today's banknote series
BoE paper: CCP legal framework may need work
Process of handling default is legally robust in many cases, but has room for improvement in others, authors say
Iceland central bank suggests tightening to come
Many domestic factors set Iceland apart from other industrialised countries, and it may need to adopt a tighter policy stance in future
Book notes: The power and independence of the Federal Reserve, by Peter Conti-Brown
Conti-Brown offers a call to action to fix the legitimacy of the Federal Reserve System, which is looking increasingly dated
ECB to conduct comprehensive assessment of four more banks
European Central Bank is assessing four banks it may come to directly supervise; supervision fees charged to European banks set to rise over 45% in 2016
Research considers use of blockchain in securities settlement
Paper published by SWIFT Institute says full application of technology could lead to, and would require, change in existing business processes in the industry
ECB paper presents evidence of risk-taking channel in US
Working paper finds interest rates affect the quality of bank credit in the US; researchers exploit confidential data on banks’ internal ratings of loans
Barbados central bank hires consultant to boost happiness
Leamon Group is brought in to improve happiness levels; governor Worrell draws a link between this and “exceptional performance”
Liikanen anticipates more changes to come from digitisation
Many new actors in the payments system in recent years have still made use of existing instruments, Bank of Finland governor says – although this could change in the future
People: Lithuania reappoints governor; Carstens retains BIS posts
Vitas Vasiliauskas handed second five-year term; Carstens will continue to chair the BIS’s global economy meeting and economic consultative committee; ex-Iceland governor to run for president
Borio: Pluralism may not be answer to weakness in international system
Claudio Borio sees the “main problem” in the international monetary and financial system as the lack of an effective anchor, and is not sure greater pluralism addresses this
Fed presidents get to grips with weaker productivity data
John Williams and Neel Kashkari discuss short- and long-term factors that could be depressing productivity growth; latest data reveals further slide in quarterly figures
BoJ board members fear negative rates are damaging
Minutes show concerns over the effects of negative rates on confidence, communication and market turbulence
Eurozone finance ministers hold extraordinary meeting over Greece
Finance ministers meet in Brussels over Greek debt; recent negotiations marked by public disagreements between IMF and Greek government
Paper examines credit risk spillover in the eurozone
Estimations of fair-value credit default swap values may give better picture of eurozone risk contagion than market prices for credit default swaps, ECB paper argues
Riksbank-FI merger not on the table – Swedish minister
Per Bolund says the government is not actively considering radical reform options discussed by the Riksbank, and defends Swedish approach to macro-prudential independence
Bolivia to get new largest denomination banknote
New 500 boliviano note will be part of first new series in almost 30 years; central bank estimates the project will cost around $45 million
Sama gets new governor in Saudi reshuffle
Deputy with experience at central bank and IMF takes over top post from Fahad Almubarak, as Saudi government shakes up major roles
Regulators can influence but not prescribe culture, Bailey says in last speech at PRA
Incoming FCA chief warns bank regulators cannot write a rule to “settle” culture, but cites the senior managers regime as an example of influence
German supervisors need more granular data – IMF staff
Staff say concerns about a housing bubble “look premature” but better data would help the authorities be prepared for imbalances; urge faster progress on structural reforms
Italian governor criticises bank resolution rules
Bank of Italy governor Visco says BRRD and European Commission policy may increase risk of financial instability
Researchers conduct ‘horse race’ of financial crisis early-warning models
Statistical approaches based on machine learning appear to offer more robust early warnings of financial crisis than models based on more conventional techniques, two researchers say