Central Banks
Stein and Wheatley to head up new FSB benchmarks steering group
Financial Stability Board sets up steering group to improve benchmarks; private sector invited to contribute to the review process
Financial institutions must prepare for higher interest rates, says Carney
Incoming Bank of England governor calls for ‘continued vigilance’ to avoid the financial system being caught out by volatility and interest rate rises caused by an exit from easy monetary policy
Bank of Italy paper finds women directors improve bank governance
Researchers find that women on bank boards tend to reduce the riskiness of investments, which they say is potentially both an argument for greater gender balance and a factor behind discrimination
Switzerland passes Basel III implementation test
Assessment finds country ‘compliant’ overall with Basel III capital framework, although a number of regulations had to be tweaked to make the grade
Bank of Finland paper attempts to isolate European fiscal multipliers
Research seeks to account for effects of policy co-ordination and business cycles to produce more accurate estimates of European fiscal multipliers
Jane Austen ‘quietly waiting in wings’ to feature on UK banknote
Bank of England governor Mervyn King says Jane Austen is a likely candidate to feature on next £10 note; fails to appease concerns over all-male banknote roster
IMF research quantifies distributional damage from fiscal consolidation
Working paper suggests efforts to cut budget deficits in advanced economies have raised inequality, cut the wage income share of GDP and pushed up long-term unemployment
BIS's Caruana wins term extension as Cecchetti prepares to quit Basel
Jaime Caruana to stay at BIS to 2017, but Stephen Cecchetti will leave in November this year; RBA's Debelle and FDIC's Verley take up other Basel posts
ECB’s Asmussen urges greater efforts at global policy co-ordination
Executive board member says globalisation has led to greater interconnectedness and many more sources of risk, but institutions have not kept pace with the demanding environment
QE was ‘a step in the dark’, Rajan tells BIS
Former IMF chief economist says decision to engage in quantitative easing was based on little evidence and influenced by politics, while the full consequences remain unclear
BoE and PBoC open ‘very important’ renminbi swap line
Bank of England and People’s Bank of China establish three-year 200 billion yuan swap line; fourth largest of its kind and first in European Union
Frenkel to rejoin Bank of Israel as Fischer replacement
Former Bank of Israel governor nominated to replace Stanley Fischer; decision surprises some as deputy governor Karnit Flug appeared to have Fischer's backing for the role
PBoC maintains hard line on liquidity
People’s Bank of China insists there is a ‘reasonable’ level of liquidity in financial sector and says commercial banks are responsible for their own levels of reserves
Reserve Bank of Fiji turned to unconventional monetary policy in wake of last year’s ‘devastating’ floods
Central bank forced commercial banks to lend to agriculture and renewable energy sectors; provided funds to affordable housing projects
Malaysia’s Zeti calls for greater macro-prudential supervision of Islamic finance
Bank Negara Malaysia governor says ‘new wave of internationalisation’ of Islamic finance necessitates greater prudential supervision and cross-border cooperation
Central banks need to start tightening policy, says BIS
The Bank for International Settlements says easy monetary policy has reached the end of what it can usefully do, warning that continuing QE will exacerbate risks and delay necessary reforms
ECB paper proposes model for assessing European sovereign and bank spillovers
Working paper uses VAR model to quantify interdependencies between bank and sovereign CDS spreads
PBoC leaves banking sector sweating over liquidity squeeze
Tight credit conditions persist as the People’s Bank of China remains silent about liquidity injections into increasingly strained banking sector
ESRB issues macro-pru advice, as IMF warns over possible conflicts
European Systemic Risk Board recommends five ‘intermediate objectives' for macro-prudential policies in the EU; IMF paper warns of potential conflicts with micro-prudential measures
Central banks showing interest in renminbi assets, RBA article says
Article highlights continuing gradual move to liberalise trade in renminbi; notes many central banks have made Chinese investments, but says renminbi not yet an official reserve asset
Bangladesh governor targets stronger debt market
Atiur Rahman concerned by public and private sector reliance on bank funding, but says government should wait until after elections to issue first sovereign bond denominated in US dollars
UK's Royal Mint brings back golden guinea to mark 350th anniversary
New £2 coin designed in the style of the now disused guinea, featuring the crest of King George III; coin will enter circulation later this year
Fed's monetary policy deviates from best practice, says Bullard
Fed monetary policy has deviated from central bank best practice and should be used ‘to meet policy objectives, not calendar objectives', says St Louis Fed president
BoE's King says expectations less important than economic conditions
Bank of England governor says focus should be on creating the right economic conditions for normalising monetary policy rather than talking people through it