Central Banks
Soaring inflation sees Mozambique hike by 100bp
Inflation reaches 11.25% in January as a result of food-price shock; central bank hikes while government attempts to focus on other figures
High debt tends to reduce consumption growth – Norges Bank memo
Research tries to capture diversity of household balance sheets, finding consumption tends to grow more slowly among those with high debt levels
BIS paper examines impact of fiscal rules in Latin America
Authors note countries with rules with "wider coverage" and "supporting procedures" can be more stable; more widely, rules help them behave 'less procyclically'
BoE and Vickers clash on capital rules
Both central bank and ring-fencing committee chair claim to have recommended higher capital requirements than the other – but a look at the proposals suggests the differences are slim
Visitors to ‘play policy-maker’ at new MAS gallery
Monetary Authority of Singapore launches latest financial literacy initiative; visitors able to ‘play policy-maker’ through interactive programs
Bulgaria launches asset quality review and stress tests
Bulgaria’s central bank will conduct an asset quality review of commercial banks, followed by stress tests; the move is in response to the 2014 failure of the country’s fourth-largest bank
RBA board agrees China has ‘scope to respond’ if outlook worsens
Minutes from February meeting reveal board is wary a ‘sharp slowing’ in economic activity could spill over to other economies in region, though Chinese authorities could respond
BoJ’s Nakaso sees analytical challenge in gauging reforms
Policy board member says the design of standard models may be one reason why it is hard to tell whether Japan needs demand- or supply-side reform
IMF paper questions ‘visceral opposition’ to inflow controls
Guilty by association: controls on capital inflows “inextricably” linked to those on outflows, paper says; controls not “worse” or “costlier” than other policy tools
Financial variables improve output gap estimates, BoE paper finds
Adding financial variables to estimates of the output gap can allow policy-makers to spot trouble on the horizon more easily, authors say
Fiscal dominance can invert transmission mechanism, Lahiri and Patel find
Authors show ‘statutory liquidity requirement’ and fiscal dominance can invert the effects of monetary policy or render it impotent; suggest ‘rebalancing’ India’s reform agenda
Ukrainian central bank calls for parliament to pass consumer protection law
Ukraine’s central bank has called for the country’s parliament to pass two stalled laws aimed at protecting consumers of financial services as concerns grow over provision of foreign aid
Austria should ‘stand ready’ to tighten capital requirements, IMF staff say
The country has made ‘significant progress’ in restructuring the regulatory and supervisory framework, the report says, but the banking sector's resilience could be strengthened
Debt repayment problems have ‘severe consequences’ on consumption, paper finds
Quarterly consumption 30% lower when debt repayment problems arise, research suggests, while recovery after the arrears is smaller than the initial decline
Dudley says US households responding more cautiously to house price growth
New York Fed report finds housing debt has been relatively flat over past few years despite house prices rising steeply over the period; points to higher principal debt repayments
BoE sketches proposals for sharia-compliant facilities
Options for deposit facilities include wakalah or commodity murabahah, with the possibility of liquidity insurance to follow
Rajan tells banks to prepare for ‘deep surgery’
RBI governor says banks will have until March 2017 to clean up their balance sheets; banking sector represents weak spot of otherwise vibrant economy
Emerging markets leading the way in cutting-edge payments innovations, UK report finds
Mobile payments embraced in emerging markets where banking infrastructure lags; Kenya’s M-Pesa system handles flows equivalent to a quarter of nation's GNP
Hungarian ‘bad bank’ gets Brussels go-ahead
European Commission authorises Hungary’s ‘bad bank’ to begin purchasing distressed real estate assets; Hungarian government and EBRD to buy up part of Erste Group operations