Central Banks
Central Bank of Brazil needs to battle inflation, says deputy-in-waiting
Progress in the fight against high inflation ‘is still not enough’, argues Tony Volpon, deputy governor nominee
Morocco takes ‘first step’ to flexible exchange rate
Moroccan central bank takes ‘first step in the transition to a more flexible exchange rate regime’ by revising its currency basket, as advised by the IMF
Sri Lanka, Indonesia take different tacks despite common imbalances
Central Bank of Sri Lanka cuts interest rates while Bank Indonesia holds; both banks are grappling with external deficits, making them vulnerable to outflows
SMEs benefit from easier European credit standards
Latest ECB bank-lending survey shows credit standards continuing to ease for enterprises in Europe during the first few months of this year; demand for loans widely expected to increase further
Rossi calls on supervisors to ‘build a real single house’
Senior deputy governor at the Bank of Italy stresses the importance of harmonising supervisory practices across the eurozone to ‘exploit the potential’ of the SSM
IMF sees strong dollar shaping global recovery
IMF chief economist sees benefits in exchange rate movements at launch of World Economic Outlook, but warns sharp alterations could ignite international tensions if they persist
Frob challenges ‘are not minor’ despite losing powers to SRM, says Restoy
Fernando Restoy outlines the latest activities at the Fund for Orderly Bank Restructuring, ahead of European reform that will strip the institution of most of its powers
Dutch paper finds public campaigns can boost debit card use
Working paper examines a campaign run in the Netherlands in 2007, finding it led to debit card use increasing by 2%; effects most prominent at early stage of campaign
Spanish paper analyses financial innovation in sovereign debt
Working paper published by the Bank of Spain studies how financial innovation in sovereign debt markets can increase a country’s level of private investment and welfare
IMF urges BCEAO to ‘closely follow’ macro-prudential risks
The Central Bank of West African States has increased the provision of liquidity to commercial banks, which in turn are buying more government debt, increasing risks to financial stability
RBI gives website a makeover
Content on new site is divided according to the RBI’s different functions; search facilities and social media presence also updated
Singapore dollar ticks up as MAS holds fire
Monetary Authority of Singapore leaves exchange rate policy unchanged despite falling prices in January and February, cites tight labour market
Argentines ask central bank for higher-denomination banknotes
Argentine bankers’ associations urge the central bank to print higher-denomination banknotes, as ATMs filled with 100 peso notes struggle to meet public demand
Cœuré cautious over loss-absorbing capacities of CCPs
ECB executive board member say loss-absorbing capacities may prove sufficient if they are applied consistently, and stresses the need for careful approach if they are to be expanded
Mozambican central bank balances food import pressures with domestic industry concerns
Bank of Mozambique holds interest rates as it comes under pressure over the value of its currency; accused of artificially propping up the value of the metical
Colombian paper studies policy impact on ‘fragile’ banks
Combination of macro-prudential tools such as pro-cyclical capital requirements and monetary policy is “well suited” to containing the effects of a downturn, study finds
Finnish paper explains why bank runs are sometimes partial
Discussion paper published by the Bank of Finland explains why bank runs in a situation where deposits are back with a government guarantee sometimes remain partial
Bank of Portugal governor calls for a European monetary fund
Costa believes such an institution is the only way to ‘guarantee stability’ in Europe; ESM head Regling says current model has created ‘successful status quo’
PBoC continues leadership reshuffle
Two assistant governors appointed at the People’s Bank of China; swap lines agreed with Australian and South African counterparts
Nigerian reserves head believes renminbi can ‘complement’ euro and dollar
Lamido Yuguda discusses the benefits of a multipolar system and how the Central Bank of Nigeria is managing its renminbi investments in a new book
IMF paper proposes refinements to potential output estimation
Researchers use an adapted ‘multivariate filter’ that aims to improve upon other methods of estimating potential output, although they admit the result is probably only the ‘least worst’ option