Central Banks
Moldovan parliament nominates central bank governor
Moldovan parliamentary committee names a former senior manager with BNP Paribas to replace the embattled central bank head
Networks did not spread 2008 shocks in eurozone money market, paper argues
Banking networks in the eurozone did not play a major role in spreading shocks in the financial crisis, ECB working paper argues; eurozone banks are ‘not network dependent’
Singer outlines evolution of Czech reserves
Miroslav Singer tells London audience the Czech National Bank reserve allocation remains 'conservative', despite expanding into equities and new currencies in recent years
US monetary policy contraction means drop in global output – paper
Raising interest rates in the US leads to lower global output and inflation in the short term; most 'pronounced' responses evident in the mid-1990s to mid-2000s
PBoC confirms Russian swap transactions
Chinese and Russian central banks disclose 'several currency swap trades' since October, but do not disclose further details
BoJ’s Nakaso insists deposit rates are not going negative
Deputy says a 'wide range' of interest rates will fall due to the BoJ’s negative rate policy, but experience in Europe implies depositors will not suffer
Sarb and Bundesbank expand co-operation
Annex to existing MoU will see Bundesbank representative based in the country; two central banks will work together on financial stability, among other issues
Cunliffe: UK housing risks back on the rise
BoE deputy governor says household balance sheets are “stretched” and some risks are growing; suggests dominance of debt as housing finance is undesirable, but unlikely to change
Lautenschläger says some leveraged finance practices need watching
ECB’s head of supervision notes increase in ‘covenant-lite’ deals
Dutch pension funds show signs of herding, paper says
Regulatory price of risk for different asset classes 'should be balanced', warns Dutch working paper, in light of herding behaviour
Turkish MPC eyes volatility as it prepares move to standardised framework
Decline in volatility will be key factor in move to a narrower interest rate corridor, minutes say; central bank expects disinflation in February after headline figure hit 9.6% in January
Economists mull how to improve Fed communications
Paper presented at US Monetary Policy Forum encourages Fed to move away from ‘time-based’ forward guidance; considers what kind of new information would be useful to markets
Australian central bank adds S Korean won to reserve portfolio
Australian central bank slashes euro holdings by 20% as diversification into alternative currencies continues
Debt deal struck but ‘heated’ discussions await Argentine president in congress
Vulture funds satisfied but Argentine president faces an ‘uphill’ battle getting deal through congress; analysts ultimately expect it to be approved, but see other challenges on the horizon
Book notes: The end of alchemy, by Mervyn King
King’s book on how to fix everything that is wrong with the financial and economic system lays out radical proposals that deserve serious consideration
Mervyn King calls for radical banking reform
Former Bank of England governor wants to curtail banks’ use of maturity transformation, putting the central bank’s lender-of-last-resort role at the heart of his new banking system
Research calls for better understanding of ML/TF risks in Islamic finance
Working paper published by International Monetary Fund warns there is ‘no common understanding’; some risks may be the same as in conventional finance, but some may not
Snapshot: IMF reveals staff views on Argentina
IMF releases informal briefings compiled 2013-2015 in absence of Article IV; staff highlighted adverse effects of central bank and banking sector financing of government
Bank of Russia proposes regular stress tests for private sector pension funds
Russian central bank proposes making all private sector pension funds implement formal risk management plans, including monthly assessments and quarterly stress tests
Singapore mulls increasing central bank’s regulatory powers
Singapore’s parliament is considering a draft law that would expand the central bank’s regulatory powers over domestic and foreign-owned banks