Central Banks
Draghi stresses willingness to act as ECB cuts inflation forecasts
Governing council holds policy as ECB staff cut inflation forecasts over the forecast horizon; Mario Draghi stresses QE could run beyond September 2016 if necessary
National Bank of Kazakhstan sets base rate for first time
Central bank sets new benchmark interest rate at 12% in first monetary policy meeting under inflation targeting framework
RBA economist proposes ‘survival model’ of banknote life
The research discussion paper outlines an alternative method of predicting how long banknotes will last, finding the ‘survival model’ produces less volatile estimates
BoJ’s Kiuchi warns 2% inflation unlikely ‘even in fiscal 2017’
Policy board member says Japanese inflation is unlikely to reach the central bank’s 2% target by the end of fiscal year 2017
Boston Fed president compares forthcoming rate hikes with past tightening cycles
Eric Rosengren finds this tightening cycle is likely to differ from those of 1994 and 2004, in that rates are set to rise more gradually and stop at a lower level
IMF urges central banks to retain easy monetary policy
Ahead of the G20 meeting in Turkey the IMF prepares a briefing on policy challenges; tells central banks to prevent real interest rates from ‘rising prematurely’
Research maps Norwegian challenges if oil prices stay low
Economic commentary considers how the increase in oil prices over the past decade has affected Norway in a bid to understand how the recent price drop could play out
BoE reveals new £20 note will be polymer
Next series of £20 banknotes will feature polymer substrate, in line with £5 and £10 notes; as yet unnamed visual artist will be included in design
BIS paper studies impact of Swiss CCB on quality of credit
Working paper finds activation of countercyclical capital buffer affected the composition of mortgage lenders in two key ways
Israel’s bank supervisor looks to split credit card companies from banks
Hedva Ber has revealed plans to boost competition in financial sector, including forcing two of the largest Israeli banks to sell their credit card companies and creating a credit database
BoJ deputy urges thorough analysis of risk weight revisions
Hiroshi Nakaso calls for a cost-benefit analysis of proposed revisions to ‘standardised approach for credit risk’ that some market participants fear could restrict financing for development
UK payments regulator approves of code of conduct
Big UK banks have published a voluntary code of conduct for those providing indirect access to payment systems, in a bid to improve standards
Australian SWF heads see returns dipping as central banks normalise policy
The chair of the Australian Government Future Fund says easy monetary policy ‘cannot be sustained indefinitely’ and returns are likely to drop in coming years
UK payments have room for improvement, report finds
Report identifies priorities for better payments among consumers, businesses and government, finding desire for faster, more flexible payments with less room for error
BIS’s Borio says current account obsession obscures important results
Focus on current account imbalances obscures many important – and often counterintuitive – results about global financial flows
RBI designates two banks ‘systemically important’
Reserve Bank of India lists State Bank of India and ICICI Bank as ‘domestic systemically important banks’ and details additional capital requirements
Carney says BoE can stay independent in face of globalisation
BoE governor says global factors ‘influence but do not dictate’ policy in speech at Jackson Hole; other economists argue central banks should do more to set policy with global dynamics in mind
Fischer upbeat on US inflation outlook at Jackson Hole
Fed vice-chair Stanley Fischer says there is ‘good reason’ to believe inflation will move higher as impact of rise in dollar and fall in oil prices dissipates
Argentine reserves spared as US court overturns ruling
Central bank will not have to pay creditors out of its reserves, US appeals court rules, although the decision is not meant to allow Argentina to ‘continue shirking’ its debts
Case for higher inflation targets takes a knock at Jackson Hole
Thomas Jordan warns higher inflation ‘likely to be associated with considerable costs’ in longer run; academics see little benefit in the Federal Reserve targeting 4%
New Zealand's colour-changing banknote feature hailed as world's first
A colour-shifting bird within a holographic window is main new security feature of the country's first banknote series in 16 years