Central Banks
VocaLink: Seven-day account switching set to shake up UK banks
Chris Dunne says UK payments are undergoing important changes that could see ‘economic battle' between banks; expects closer scrutiny of infrastructure by regulators
RBI governor finds ‘a lot of scope for improvement’ in IMF advice
Duvvuri Subbarao examines performance of the IMF since the financial crisis, and finds the Fund wanting in a number of areas
Former MPC members warn against 'shock' QE exit
Andrew Sentance and Kate Barker warn of economic impact of the Bank of England ending its asset purchases; Sentance surprised by persistently low interest rates
Swedish deputy wants central bank independence reconsidered
Barbro Wickman-Parak, in her last speech at the Riksbank, says independence is ‘essential’ for price stability but needs to be reviewed with regard to macroprudential policy and financial stability
Irish plan for distressed borrowers attracts criticism
Central Bank of Ireland encourages cooperation between lenders of secured and unsecured debt to keep distressed borrowers from bankruptcy; Irish League of Credit Unions denounces scheme
Israel cuts rates and buys forex in moves to ward off ‘Dutch disease'
Unscheduled monetary policy decision by Bank of Israel cuts base rate 25bp as central bank launches a forex purchase programme to hold the shekel down after gas finds
Omani central bank unveils SME measures
All banks operating in Oman will have to allocate 5% of credit portfolios to SMEs; prudential and collateral requirements relaxed to encourage lending
IMF paper searches for deeper insight into the output gap
Working paper proposes method of estimating and decomposing output gaps; inflation found to have low weight
Fin paper says hybrid monetary policy regimes are unsustainable
Bank of Finland working paper finds most former Soviet Republics operate without a free-floating exchange rate or hard peg; says hybrid policies are unsustainable
Fed paper investigates decline in US labour market mobility
Study identifies drop in interstate migration since 1980s; attributes fall to stronger internal labour markets rather than demographic or sociological factors
Sri Lanka cuts rates 50bp in defiance of IMF advice
Central bank cuts benchmark interest rate by 50bp to 7% as growth stutters and inflation falls; IMF warned yesterday against ‘further easing of monetary policy in the near term'
Reserve Bank of Australia publishes monetary policy statement
RBA Monetary Policy Statement says cash rate could change further 'to foster sustainable growth and low inflation'
Iceland’s Guðmundsson backs MAS-style stability model
Icelandic governor says managed float and strong supervision are important lessons to be taken from Singapore; says capital controls helped avoid a default in Iceland, but should not be used lightly
Central Bank of Nigeria hits back at ‘unfounded and mischievous’ reports
Central bank denies reports that it destroyed documents demanded in a hearing of the Nigerian parliament’s Public Accounts Committee
Bernanke outlines Fed's ‘intensified' monitoring of financial system
Focus is on Sifis, shadow banking, asset markets, and the non-financial sector, according to the chairman of the Federal Reserve
Ireland’s Elderfield says ‘imperfect’ Solvency II should still go ahead
Deputy governor highlights many imperfections in the Solvency II framework but says it is better than the fragmentation and rising costs that are the alternative
South African paper models international spillovers
Study finds South Africa is a ‘net receiver’ of spillovers from other economies; suggests this is likely to persist as business cycle synchronisation has increased
Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago’s Jwala Rambarran on reform in the Caribbean
Interview: Jwala Rambarran
Central banks adopting social media at different paces, finds CBJ study
A multi-speed approach to social media
FDIC’s Thomas Hoenig on bank separation, safety nets and Basel III
Interview: Thomas Hoenig
Central Bank of Iceland’s Már Guðmundsson on crisis management and capital controls
Miracles and misconceptions
The SSM, banking union and the future of prudential policy in Europe
A European approach to prudential policy
Resolving Europe’s banks
Resolving Europe’s banks