Central Banks
Israel and Turkey cut rates, hinting at further easing
Bank of Israel eases with one eye on the appreciating shekel; Turkey stands by its ‘cautious’ stance on interest rate cuts with 25bp reduction
Carney defends eurozone comments
Parliamentary committee questions appropriateness of BoE governor calling for fiscal union in Europe; Carney admits authorities outside eurozone were keen for him to make the comments
Clearing houses face privacy law concerns
US reporting requirements could force CCPs to break national privacy laws
Research promotes regional approach to financial stability in Asean
IMF working paper says it is ‘equally important’ as regulatory harmonisation; sees potential for vulnerabilities as countries with lower credit-to-GDP ratios catch up with their neighbours
Italian paper: Reforms could lead to earlier exit from ZLB
Working paper examines the impact of competition-friendly reforms in the service sector across the eurozone, finding it could help boost inflation providing investment responds
UK regulators flesh out proposed punishments for bankers
Consultation papers set out details of how presumption of responsibility will work in practice, including narrowed scope, and seek to extend greater protections to whistleblowers
Greek debt deal marks start of rough road
Negotiations on Friday ended in a compromise stacked in Germany’s favour; although disaster has been temporarily averted there are more battles to come, and Greece’s funding remains tight
Azerbaijan devalues currency by a third
Central bank follows up last week’s decision to abandon its peg in favour of a currency basket by devaluing the manat by 34% against the US dollar
IMF eyes stronger transmission mechanism in Paraguay
Latest staff report advises the Paraguayan authorities to promote a ‘well-functioning’ interbank market and create stronger incentives for ‘de-dollarisation’ in the economy
Richmond Fed paper examines triggers for contingent capital conversion
Working paper finds the desirability of a regulator or fixed-price mechanism depends on the effect the conversion has on the value of equity to the incumbent owners
Islamic finance: Nigerian central bank reveals shape of advisory body
Central Bank of Nigeria publishes guidelines for the Financial Regulation Advisory Council of Experts, charged with offering ‘expert advice’ on the industry and approving new products
BoE research finds high-frequency trading makes prices more efficient
High-frequency trading, although correlated, appears to be based on information and therefore helps markets form prices efficiently, working paper finds
Saccomanni sees political not analytical constraints to policy cooperation
Former Bank of Italy deputy says analytical framework for international monetary policy cooperation already exists, but G-20 countries are being held back by politics
Canadian deputy reveals new indicator of inflation expectations
Bank of Canada launches new household survey; Agathe Côté says the 'power of our new tool will truly reveal itself’ after a couple of years, but early indications are ‘promising’
Fed officials grapple with lift-off details
Minutes from January FOMC meeting reveal extensive discussion about the tools at the Fed’s disposal when it wants to raise rates; idea of higher cap for overnight RRPs explored
More reforms needed to tackle CCP risks, warns IMF paper
Significant risks remain despite efforts to improve the resilience of central counterparties, IMF working paper warns; direct access to central bank facilities would help
Serbian central bank sees inflation climbing to target in 2015
General manager Branko Hinić discusses latest forecasts at the launch of the National Bank of Serbia’s latest inflation report; attributes low inflation in 2014 to ‘temporary’ factors
Bank structure affects macro-prudential spillovers, BoE research finds
Working paper finds macro-prudential policies spill across borders more readily to bank branches than subsidiaries, although the change depends on type of lending and type of policy
Carstens picked to head IMFC
Bank of Mexico governor will succeed Tharman Shanmugaratnam as head of the IMF’s International Monetary and Financial Committee
NBER paper finds shareholder protection dampens crises
Stock markets provide emergency source of funding during banking crises, and the shock-absorbing effect is stronger if shareholders are better protected, working paper finds
Turkish MPC could face lawsuit
If convicted central bankers could face jail term over refusal to cut rates, but spokesman says central bank law protects policy-makers from prosecution relating to conduct of their duties
Fed’s Powell sets ‘high bar’ for leaning against credit cycles
Governor Powell says leaning against the cycle through supervisory policy would ‘almost surely interfere’ with traditional function of capital markets
Bank of Canada research underscores need for securitisation reform
Working paper warns asymmetric information impairs market functioning and means risk-sharing is not enough to efficiently allocate securitisations