Central Banks
BoE officials say UK may be starting to throw off productivity woes
There are signs the UK may be emerging from the ‘long, dark tunnel’ of weak productivity, officials tell the Treasury Committee; government’s minimum wage plans may be a positive factor
Former Afghan governor returns for second term
Khalilullah Sediq takes over for a second time as governor of the Bank of Afghanistan, following a spell in the private sector
Thai Government Pension Fund eyes deeper bond futures market
Thailand's $23 billion Government Pension Fund is one of the institutions that wants to see the country's bond futures market build on the progress already made in equity and forex derivatives
Reform of Sterling Monetary Framework is ‘ongoing’, says BoE’s Salmon
Executive director for markets highlights potential for sharia-compliant facilities to be included in framework, among host of possible future developments
Zimbabwean governor says banks more stable
John Mangudya says the banking sector ‘remains safe and sound’ after the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe moved to address credit risk and liquidity constraints
Armenian annual report highlights growing European ties
Central Bank of Armenia strikes loan agreement worth €50 million with European Investment Bank and will use the money to fund SME projects
European leaders strike Greek deal but hurdles remain
All-night session ends in Greece agreeing to a tough reform package, but finance ministers continue to debate possible bridge financing and national parliaments must still give green light
ECB rolls out new website
Central bank revamps website with new design that puts greater emphasis on images, graphs and statistics; builds on bank supervision site launched in November
Yellen expects 'lift-off' later this year
Janet Yellen expects the Fed to raise the federal funds rate "at some point" in 2015 with full employment "coming closer into view" and inflation on track to return to 2% in the next few years
Provincial bond issuance could revive Chinese CDS market
China's CDS market has been languishing in the shadow of state protection – will the rising provincial bond market change this?
Colombian paper paints nuanced picture of bank risk and efficiency link
Researchers find some efficiency gains from better capitalisation, but results differ depending on whether a bank is large or small, domestic or foreign
IMF wants new fund with ability to extend ELA in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Staff suggest creating financial stability fund that can provide liquidity support to stressed but solvent banks, which the currency board arrangement prohibits the central bank from doing
San Fran Fed’s Williams says Chinese government ‘realistic’ about growth
John Williams says most economists and officials understand growth will probably drop below current target of 7%, which may lead them to adjust reform timetable
CPMI and Iosco launch first consistency assessment of FMI principles
'Level three' assessment will examine the consistency with which the Principles for Financial Market Infrastructures have been applied to central counterparties
Greek crisis enters critical weekend
Negotiations enter final days, with European authorities scrambling to assess whether new proposals go far enough; Greece has backers, but Germany must still be persuaded
Fed’s Brainard ponders whether systemic banks could choose to downsize
Governor Lael Brainard says systemically important institutions may choose to ‘reduce their systemic footprint’ as regulation kicks in and impacts cost-benefit analysis
Ex-BoE deputy to review UK statistics in effort to improve productivity measure
Charles Bean will lead an independent review on the ‘quality, delivery and governance’ of economic statistics produced in the UK, as government grapples with productivity puzzle
De Grauwe says Greek crisis has shaken OMT credibility
Belgian economist says ECB’s decision not to use OMTs because of fears over Greek solvency may have fatally damaged the policy’s credibility and consequently the stability of the eurozone
New swaps margin hub aims to solve disputes pre-call
Matching up risk factors should avoid collateral headaches, hub hopes
Weidmann does not see case for higher inflation targets
The Deutsche Bundesbank president points to welfare costs of higher inflation target, and argues in favour of structural reforms that boost productivity and deliver higher trend growth
FSB highlights ‘major steps’ toward reforming ‘Ibors’
Report finds administrators of Libor, Euribor and Tibor are making progress towards stronger interest rate benchmarks, with those in other jurisdictions advancing too
Irish SME report shows growth in new lending
Report published by Central Bank of Ireland shows annualised gross new lending at highest level since 2011, with the largest share channelled to the agricultural sector