Feature
Transparency award: Sveriges Riksbank
Sveriges Riksbank, the Swedish central bank, plays a pioneering role in central bank openness and clear communications
Has the global financial crisis dented central bank independence?
Grace Koshie looks at the post-crisis role of central banks, examining issues of fiscal dominance and weaker policy freedom in an increasingly inter-connected world demanding ever-greater transparency
Monetary policy is the incorrect tool to curb asset bubbles
There is no evidence the use of monetary policy in Sweden to keep household debt in check actually works. Such a policy only undermines employment and results in the Riksbank breaching its mandate
Kazakhstan’s integration of alternative assets into its reserves management
Resource-rich Kazakhstan has embraced alternatives through the creation of a new fund to drive returns and improve diversification of its foreign reserves. Yeszhan Birtanov reports
New central bank mandates raise operational challenges
Central bankers face a raft of policy and operational challenges as their institutions take on new mandates and expanded responsibilities. By Martina Horáková, Tristan Carlyle and Arvid Ahlund
Turning forward guidance into 20:20 vision
The Bank of England’s vision of forward guidance is incomplete and could shake confidence in the central bank’s policy framework.
Rajan faces daunting challenges as he takes over as RBI governor
Raghuram Rajan faces a raft of monetary policy, governance and financial stability challenges when he takes over as governor of the Reserve Bank of India next week, writes Hugh Sandeman
Europe could learn from Germany’s macro-prudential approach
Germany’s approach to macro-prudential oversight could offer insights into how to democratise ‘hard’ policy tools and enshrine independence at a time when more power is being transferred to the ECB
Central bankers should be wary of their political bargain with government
Central bankers appear ‘spellbound’ by governments keen to give them new regulatory powers despite concerns about their ability to deliver either stable monetary or financial policy in the future
ECB conflicted by Cyprus bail-in
The ECB’s failure to secure a bail-out for the Cypriot banking system changes the template for sovereign rescue in the eurozone. It also has implications for a central bank that appears conflicted
BIS calls for monetary tightening not heeded by major central banks
The BIS's latest annual report voices the private concerns of the world’s leading central bankers. But it falls short on action that will hold national governments to task
The PBoC, the liquidity squeeze and market liberalisation
The PBoC was accused of poor communication and inaction when interbank rates spiked in June. But Hui Feng believes the central bank wanted to give regulated financial institutions a warning
A status report on Dodd-Frank and the Volcker rule
As the US and Europe move closer to co-operating on derivatives legislation, Vembar Ranganathan looks at the status of Dodd-Frank implementation aimed at curbing excesses in the derivatives market
HKMA primed for mobile payments surge
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority is enhancing the legal and supervisory framework needed for the safe development of retail payments for its echnology-savvy population
New central bank policy mandates could cause vicious feedback loops
The trend for central banks to take on mandates for prudential policy in addition to monetary policy could cause dangerous feedback loops in the absence of a well-defined risk appetite
The Bretton Woods transcripts: debate about the World Bank and the BIS
Andrew Rosenberg highlights the secondary importance of negotiations to create the World Bank and cover ‘other discussions’ as well as Norway’s objections to having the BIS once the IMF was founded
Central banks adopting social media at different paces, finds CBJ study
A new Central Banking journal study shows that institutions around the world are adopting very different approaches in their deployment of social media techniques
The SSM, banking union and the future of prudential policy in Europe
The establishment of a single supervisory mechanism under the ECB will help mitigate a number of threats to Europe’s financial system, writes Ignazio Angeloni. But still more needs to be done
The changing structure of the euro money market
Systematic reports on the European secured and unsecured money market would represent a powerful tool for central bankers despite the current distortions caused by Eurosystem liquidity operations
The case for nominal GDP targeting by central banks
Central banks have experimented with new monetary policy approaches, with nominal GDP targeting the latest idea to be put forward. Richard Werner looks at the empirical data supporting such a policy
China’s new financial and regulatory architects
Keeping Zhou Xiaochuan as governor of the People’s Bank of China will provide policy stability in the world’s second largest economy. But there are plenty of changes elsewhere
Bank Negara Malaysia’s approach to developing a financial inclusion index
Malaysia’s index of financial inclusion was created as a first step to increasing the depth of financial participation in the country, but more data is needed, says Zarina Abd Rahman
Bretton Woods Transcripts reveal insights into IMF quotas and governance
In the second of a three-part series, Andrew Rosenberg writes about how the negotiators at the Bretton Woods conference in 1944 spent much of their time deliberating quotas and governance for the IMF
Fed ‘stimulus’ chokes indirect finance to SMEs
Low interest rates in the US are crowding out indirect finance to SMEs and distorting financial markets generally. The Fed needs to act by raising rates to 2%, argues Ronald McKinnon