Central Banks
Philippines 5% leverage ratio causes few ripples
Central Bank of the Philippines brings in one of the highest basic leverage ratios globally, but local firms are unconcerned
Sarb deputy wary of weaker currency with inflation rising
Daniel Mminele warns any ‘significant weakening’ in the South African rand in response to a Federal Reserve rate hike could cause inflation outlook to deteriorate
Canadian central bank lays out three ‘key’ vulnerabilities in financial system
Bank of Canada warns vulnerability associated with household indebtedness is ‘edging higher’ and points to imbalances in the housing market and investor risk-taking in financial markets
Zimbabwe pulls local currency from circulation
Locals will be able to exchange their Zimbabwean dollars for US dollars until September 30; any amount up to Z$175 quadrillion in their bank accounts will be swapped for a flat $5
EBA recommends balance between filling resolution fund and procyclicality
European Commission could allow some variation in banks’ contributions to Single Resolution Fund to avoid procyclicality, but reaching the fund’s target level is ‘first priority’
ECCB sees sense in scrapping cents
Eastern Caribbean Central Bank insists ‘everyone will benefit from the withdrawal’ of one and two cent coins from July, as they are expensive to produce and carry very little purchasing power
Weidmann sees bond reversal as ‘a kind of re-normalisation’
Bundesbank president argues sell-off is a ‘correction of market overshooting’ in the wake of ECB asset purchases; insists volatility is ‘not exceptionally high’ at present
Fed taper could hit African sovereign credits hard, World Bank warns
Cross-continent trade agreement could help provide bigger markets and greater efficiencies, but African economies face tough times ahead with borrowing costs set to rise
Philadelphia Fed survey sees brighter outlook for economy
Survey of US forecasters shows outlook of higher growth and lower unemployment than previously thought by the end of 2015; inflation expected to return to target next year
Cash payments still declining, Norges Bank report finds
Norwegians are making more and smaller payments using cards while cash use continues its downward trend, payments report shows
Draghi defends ECB participation in private events
ECB president tells EU ombudsman that Benoit Coeuré did not reveal market-sensitive information at event in London in May; attributes late publication of speech to ‘internal miscommunication’
Virus outbreak prompts Bank of Korea rate cut
Deadly Mers virus a key factor behind central bank’s decision to ease policy as economic recovery shows signs of faltering
Kiwi slides as RBNZ cuts OCR to boost demand
Reserve Bank of New Zealand cuts key rate to 3.25% and suggests further easing could follow; kiwi drops to lowest level against US dollar in almost five years in aftermath
Dutch paper says theory of forward guidance must catch up with practice
Economists from the Netherlands Bank argue so-called Odyssean communication ‘does not exist in practice’ as central banks want to avoid committing themselves to a particular set of actions
BoE launches push to create global forex code that ‘has teeth’
Fair and Effective Markets Review recommends effort to establish global code of conduct as part of implementing UK regulation of fixed income, currency and commodity markets
US ‘unwilling to compromise' on derivatives rules, China vice-minister of finance says
Differences in accounting practices remains an urgent issue, Zhu Guangyao argues in a new China report; contributors critical of dollar's ‘exorbitant privilege' as sole reserve currency
Cleveland Fed economists cautious over use of Taylor rule
Research emphasises the difficulty in measuring potential output and the natural rate of unemployment accurately and urges policy-makers to ‘take care’ when using the rule
Iceland raises rates by 50bp and warns more will follow
Central bank says it will take ‘appropriate countervailing measures’ if the increase in government revenues from failed bank asset tax is used to stimulate the economy
RBA’s Stevens says infrastructure project could help solve growth problems
Governor sees limits to monetary policy and urges government to fill the void by maintaining spending and launching a long-run infrastructure plan
Danish payments report details challenging shift to real time
Completed in November 2014, ‘Straksclearing’ allows real-time settlement of retail payments, but has run into a few issues; National Bank of Denmark also in process of overhauling RTGS system
BoJ’s Sato says QQE becoming harder to implement
Takehiro Sato warns easing programme risks undermining confidence in central bank policy by eroding fiscal discipline, making interest rates harder to control