Central Banks
IMF staff call for clarity on Morocco macro-prudential body
Staff report calls on government to clarify powers of inter-agency committee chaired by central bank governor; separate assessment details work on toolkit
German and French central bank heads back creation of eurozone Treasury
Weidmann and Villeroy de Galhau issue joint call for more integrated eurozone, potentially including joint treasury; alternative would mean different approach to sovereign risk
Paper models complications to systemic financial shock responses
Different classes of illiquid asset and different types of banking network produce complicated responses to systemic financial shocks, Bank of Italy working paper argues
RBI’s Gandhi: are regulators ‘barking up the right trees’?
Deputy governor stresses effective regulation is not about ever more detailed rules but rather taking a broad view and spotting emerging risks early on
Eurosystem reveals rules on national asset holdings
ECB publishes an agreement governing the size of ‘non-monetary policy holdings’ at national central banks in the eurozone; aggregate net financial assets totalled €490 billion at end-2015
BIS data sheds light on complex shift in global liquidity
There are signs global liquidity might be going into reverse for emerging markets; digging into the data shows situation is more complicated than aggregate figures imply
Research considers why macroeconomic announcements impact asset prices
A working paper published by the ECB weighs the ‘intrinsic value’ of macroeconomic news announcements in the US, finding timing is crucial to maintaining it
Ukraine governor reveals move towards inflation targeting
Ukraine’s central bank is already setting policy with an eye on an inflation target while it awaits a formal mandate, its governor says; banking ‘cleanup’ is ‘near the finish line’
BoJ report spells out reasons for dissent on negative rate
Board members had wide range of concerns over cutting rate below zero, including communication challenges, risk of financial instability and danger of triggering a global race to the bottom
Caruana marks out dangerous nexus between debt, oil and the US dollar
BIS chief points to interactions of dollar borrowing by emerging markets, US rate hikes and the oil price, as latest data suggests world may be balanced on the edge of a drop in global liquidity
Illiquidity, concentrated bond holding raise volatility – paper
The volatility of financial market price shocks in the Bund and taper tantrums was aggravated by illiquidity and concentrated holdings of bonds, working paper finds
Italian banking episode shows supervision working well, Nouy says
Handling of problems with Italian banks shows regulators have the right systems in place, Danièle Nouy says; there might be skeletons, but they are ‘not in the cupboard’
IMF staff urge caution on Kyrgyz de-dollarisation plans
Central bank plans to support borrowers with foreign currency exposures, but IMF team warns this must be backed by other policies; action also needed on central bank independence, it says
Weaker shareholder liability need not mean more risk-taking, Riksbank paper finds
Study of abolition of double liability in Canada finds bank riskiness did not increase; authors suggest weaker incentives for shareholders were offset by closer scrutiny by depositors
ECB’s Angeloni wants analysis of macro-prudential measures ‘at some stage’
Supervisory board member says analysis will be important in the future, partly because it will help identify ‘scope’ of potential ECB actions
Clock ticking on Georgian governor appointment
Georgian central bank governor's term expires on February 26, but it is unclear who will hold the post moving forwards; vice governors could also change later in the year
Riksbank pushes for FSA to gain stronger tools amid delays
Amortisation requirement looks set to enter force in June, but more powerful tools for Swedish FSA may be delayed; government says negotiations take time, and it fears triggering crisis