Central Banks
Kuroda wins over BoJ policy rebels
Three of four dissenters at the last policy meeting line up behind Bank of Japan’s expanded easing programme as inflation slips lower
Bank of Canada weighs inflation target increase
Consideration should be given to an inflation target that is above 2%, deputy governor argues; says lower neutral interest rate could lead to ‘non-trivial’ increase in ZLB episodes
Linde: Spanish banks have ‘solid solvency position’
Bank of Spain governor says performance of Spanish banks during ECB stress tests was ‘positive’; banks face the future in a ‘solid solvency position’
BIS paper warns Basel III likely to prove ‘challenging’ for emerging markets
Working paper points to a number of obstacles to implementing the Basel framework in emerging markets and developing economies, and suggests potential solutions
Central Bank of Brazil takes action to boost credit
Co-operative banks in Brazil to be granted as much as 760 million reais for new loans and allowed to issue bonds, in a move designed boost credit in the country
BoE’s Forbes says financial ‘deglobalisation’ has upside
Kristin Forbes highlights ‘massive contraction’ in global bank flows as main factor reversing financial globalisation, resulting in both positive and negative effects on the UK economy
Kocherlakota wants Fed to mimic Bank of Canada communication
Minneapolis Fed president calls for ‘symmetric’ inflation target and two-year horizon for achieving it; says FOMC should adopt Canada-style language to characterise inflation objective
Robert Pringle’s Viewpoint: Time to cure central bankers’ deflation phobia
The policies followed since the ‘great crisis’ have not succeeded in restoring confidence. It is time to try a different approach
Snap election spells headache for BoJ
Shinzo Abe calls snap election to bolster support for delaying a planned tax hike, but the move has implications for the Bank of Japan’s quantitative easing programme
Riksbank paper examines impact of systematic bailout guarantees on bank co-ordination
Bailout regime increases expected profits from co-ordination and raises probability of competitors remaining in business, researchers argue
Eurasian central bank cooperation taken up a notch
Armenia and Kyrgyzstan attend ‘advisory council’ on foreign exchange policy for first time; meeting held in wake of Bank of Russia’s decision to let the ruble float
Bundesbank’s Nagel wants Frankfurt clearing house
Executive board member details benefits to German economy from having an RMB clearing bank, and sets out plans to form a clearing house in the future
UK bank reforms may be ‘diluted’, warns parliamentary commission
Former members of the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards warn regulations are at risk of being misinterpreted, diluted by lobbying, or applied incorrectly
BIS paper finds leverage ratio more countercyclical than other capital ratios
Working paper finds evidence the leverage ratio is ‘significantly’ more countercyclical than ratios of capital to risk-weighted assets, although the effect is less powerful during crises
Bank Indonesia raises interest rates in ad hoc meeting after fuel price rise
In an unexpected meeting, the Bank of Indonesia decided to raise the interest rate to 7.75% to tackle inflation, after the government raised fuel prices by more than 30%
Mauritian governor predicts banking overhaul by 2035
Rundheersing Bheenick sees mobile technology taking centre stage in years to come and banks reducing staff as a result; describes inequality as a ‘time bomb’ facing the economy
Draghi says sovereign bond-buying is on the table and under scrutiny
ECB staff preparing plans for various unconventional policies, with sovereign bond-buying very much under consideration, president says; dismisses concerns that low rates defer government action
G-20 summit delivers agreement on TLAC
Leaders approve standard for total loss-absorbing capacity, but consensus on cross-border cooperation remains hazy; Carney looks ahead to next phase of reforms
BIS' Caruana warns a debt trap 'looms large'
BIS general manager laments lack of analytical framework for dealing with ‘interplay' between finance and the real economy
Praet: Covered bond supply ‘dynamised’ by ECB purchases
European Central Bank executive board member Peter Praet identified ‘a number of supply side reactions’ to covered bond purchases, which hit €10.5 billion last week
BoE to challenge orthodoxy with research ‘revolution’
More combative approach to Bank of England’s research will see economists challenge orthodoxy – including the central bank’s own policies – as often as they support it, says Andrew Haldane
RBA strikes clearing deal with PBoC
Australian authorities agree clearing arrangements and RQFII quota with Chinese counterparts; announced in wake of G-20 summit and follows similar Canadian deals
St. Louis Fed’s Bullard doubts zero lower bound
James Bullard says low inflation in the US may justify a ‘somewhat lower-than-normal’ policy rate, but not remaining at the zero lower bound