Central Banks
Richmond Fed economist sees obstacles to Islamic finance in the US
Islamic finance in the US suffers from poor liquidity and problems meshing with the regulatory environment, researcher says
New payments regulator in UK may have uneasy relationship with BoE
Treasury committee highlights potential for conflicting objectives between newly formed payments regulator and the Bank of England; Tyrie says independence ‘pretty heavily circumscribed’
Lower liquidity has impeded Swedish markets, central bank survey shows
The Swedish markets are functioning 'slightly less well' than six months ago and will deteriorate further, a risk survey conducted by Sveriges Riksbank finds
Malaysian banks will use cheque fees to incentivise electronic payments
To reduce the use of cash and cheques in the financial system, Bank Negara Malaysia is introducing a scheme whereby cheque fees will be used to incentivise e-payments
ECB fears ‘abrupt reversal’ of global search for yield
Central bank says an end to the hunt for yield is the main threat to financial stability in the eurozone; Constâncio concerned by impact on investors’ balance sheets
Ukraine gets new deputy in leadership reshuffle
Vladyslav Rashkovan promoted to acting deputy governor after just seven months at the central bank; board membership expanded to include head of personnel
Money-inflation link shows signs of breaking down - Bundesbank paper
Researchers present evidence that money growth and inflation are losing synchronicity in the medium- to long-run, although the relationship still holds in the very long-run
Linde says Bank of Spain retains ‘important role’ in SSM
Bank of Spain governor says national central banks will play a vital role in the conduct of banking supervision under the new system
Constâncio wants to ‘broaden’ European macro-prudential toolkit
ECB vice-president wants a broader macro-prudential toolkit to help smooth the financial cycle, including new instruments for the shadow banking sector
PBoC action ‘lays foundation’ for liberalisation
Central bank emphasises movement towards interest rate liberalisation, saying last week’s rate cut was designed to combine financial reform and monetary policy
Bank of Korea governor sees imbalances worsening
Juyeol Lee warns a ‘fundamental rebalancing’ may be the only way to achieve longer-term growth; external imbalances may also deteriorate
Rajan faults 'big borrowers' for eroding 'sanctity' of debt contracts in India
RBI governor calls for ‘change in mindset' where the ‘wilful defaulter' is ‘justly chastised as a freeloader' on hardworking people
EC vice-president urges ECB to play its part in historic investment push
Jyrki Katainen highlights need for policy co-ordination as public-private EU investment fund is announced; ECB's Constâncio suggests no decision on QE in December
Norges Bank's Olsen sees dangers in too much transparency
Governor Øystein Olsen tells Central Banking that giving too much detail to the public might generate more questions than useful insight; defends tradition of not publishing minutes
Bank of Portugal gets new powers to assess bank directors
Bankers’ current court cases and their personal business conduct are now also part of the Bank of Portugal's assessment of the banking system
Central Bank of Nigeria raises stakes with rate hike
Bank loosens grip on falling naira but governor ‘committed to stable exchange rate'; warns drop in oil price is permanent and depreciation could continue
BoJ’s Nakaso sees opportunities for payments innovation
Options on the table include 24-7 real-time payment systems, improved cross-border linkages and better financial messaging systems
BoJ minutes reveal fears of QE ‘side effects’
Minutes from meeting that saw central bank ramp up asset purchases reveal concerns among board members; Kuroda and Nakaso speak in defence of the policy
BoE officials defend use of labour market data in policy-making
Mark Carney and other top officials say labour market data quality is variable but always carefully examined; central bank may publish details of agents’ assessment of the economy
Malaysian banks working on a Swift rulebook for Islamic transactions
A Swift rulebook ‘will provide an efficient platform for the exchange of messages for Islamic finance transactions’, says governor of Bank Negara Malaysia
Global housing trends can predict domestic financial stability – Norges Bank paper
Crisis probability increases markedly when ‘bubble-like behaviour' in the housing and credit markets coincides with high leverage, research shows
Riksbank study questions status of cash as legal tender
Researchers warn ‘lock-in effect' may inhibit market participants from exploiting more efficient payment methods
Bundesbank explores macro-prudential framework
Claudia Buch says the central bank is 'looking into' what needs to be done to provide a legal basis for macro-prudential policy; Bundesbank releases financial stability review