Central Banks
FSB report finds mixed progress on benchmark reforms
Report welcomes ‘good progress’ on many recommendations, particularly surrounding London fix, but identifies room for improvements
Norges Bank unlikely to follow others into negative territory, says Olsen
Governor flags the dangers and distortions from very low rates, but says Norway has more room to manoeuvre than most; contrasts ECB and Riksbank liquidity policies
Romania euro entry ‘no longer feasible’ for 2019, central bank governor says
National Bank of Romania governor says it is ‘no longer technically possible’ to join the single currency by January 2019; had previously warned of need for structural reforms
Fed’s Dudley: liquidity warnings a ploy to weaken regulation
'Most arbitrage trading has simply ceased,' while Treasury market depth has dropped from $500 million to $130 million, bankers say
European Commission unveils capital markets union ‘action plan’
European capital markets must be standardised and liberalised, commission says; specific areas of focus include infrastructure funding and securitisation markets
IMF reveals Cofer submitters but scraps advanced-emerging breakdown
Fund reveals 96 economies submitting their reserves breakdown to the Cofer database, in the name of transparency – but axes breakdown of advanced/emerging economies for fear of revealing too much
Credit growth has had significant impact on EM growth, IMF paper says
IMF paper explores relationship between the level and composition of credit growth and real GDP growth across 31 emerging market economies
Cyber attacks could represent systemic threat, warns Ireland’s Roux
A string of cyber attacks on financial institutions could start a ‘domino effect’ that triggers a financial crisis, so firms need to improve their defences, deputy governor says
Economists expected lower inflation under Yellen than Bernanke, SNB paper finds
Sample of economists from ‘reputable academic and policy institutions’ on aggregate expected slightly lower inflation under Yellen compared to if Bernanke had stayed on
Paraguayan central bank plans to expand new database
Central Bank of Paraguay aims to include wider range of data in new online platform, which was launched last week to ‘favourable reception’
Disharmony threatens EU regulation, says EBA’s Enria
EBA chair says countries have too many opportunities to bend regulations to suit them, undermining supervision and harming banking union; argues EBA should be granted greater responsibilities
Carney sees ‘clear interest’ in preparing for transition to lower-carbon economy
While central bankers will not determine response to climate change, they should ensure markets adjust efficiently, according to Carney, which means boosting transparency
Central banks should prepare to deal with sharp drops in liquidity, IMF says
Policy-makers need to take action to halt rising risks relating to liquidity, IMF says; central banks may be able to use collateral policies to deal with crises
Colombia concerned by loosening inflation expectations
Unexpected increase in inflation spurs Colombian central bank into action, as it raises key rate by 25 basis points; observers divided over importance of growth risks
Global factors harming domestic policy transmission in Asia, IMF research finds
Authors find global factors help to explain why bank funding in Asian economies has such a limited role in transmitting monetary policy
Chicago Fed president wants more evidence of inflation
Evans backs an ‘extra-patient approach’ to monetary policy as he airs concerns over inflation outlook and ‘asymmetric’ risks; assesses economy more cautiously than FOMC colleagues
BoE paper extracts inflation expectations from market rates
Market rates are an imperfect measure of expected future inflation, say economists, who break them down into constituent parts, stripping out risk premia and the ‘wedge’ between RPI and CPI
Botswana research weighs impact of various instruments on credit
While interest rates may be more effective at influencing credit than reserve requirements, more ‘direct’ macro-prudential measures could be even better, Botswana article finds