News
New Zealand central bank asks for more macro-prudential powers
Capital’s housing prices "among the highest in the world", report says; heightened debt levels among farmers leave sector "vulnerable to future shocks"
Austrian central bank gives award to two young economists
Papers study responses to shocks in structural funds and effects of trade on business cycle
Bank of Zambia closes fourth bank this quarter
Commercial bank deemed insolvent by the regulator; Bank of Zambia takes over control of the institution to “safeguard” depositors
RBS falls short in latest Bank of England stress tests
Three banks show signs of “capital inadequacies” in the latest round of tests, with RBS forced to review its capital plan; Carney says global and domestic risk remains “elevated”, prompting the FPC to leave its buffer unchanged
People: Tobias Adrian to replace Viñals at IMF
New York Fed economist to take over IMF’s monetary and capital markets department; Malaysia appoints new financial stability board; vice-chair picked for FinCoNet
‘Significant’ housing market risks in eight EU states – ESRB
UK outlook “highly uncertain”, while regulatory mandate in Sweden is “not clear”
Dealers urge further clarity on rules for ailing CCPs
New European rules stop short of defining resolution triggers
Seychelles issues first full banknote series in 18 years
The central bank spends around $2.6 million producing new series; SCR10 note transformed into coin in the new series, while the SCR500 note gets a facelift
Bundesbank unveils blockchain settlement system
Prototype system able to transfer digital coins or securities as well as settling “basic corporate actions”; Deutsche Bundesbank to continue working on project to create a test concept
Central banks may be partly to blame for low real rates, says BIS’s Borio
Ever-bolder attempts to raise inflation could push down on real rates, generating little inflation but worsening the risk of instability, Claudio Borio says
Cœuré spells out ECB’s stance on Greek reforms
The Greek government must reform the legal process and status of banks, senior ECB figure says
OECD expects growth boost from Trump infrastructure plans
Organisation says “well targeted” public spending could help economies escape slow growth, though it warns protectionism might undo the benefits
Central Bank of West African States to regulate national digital currency
BCEAO to distribute digital currency first in Senegal before rolling it out across the west African bloc; 'eCFA' developed by regional bank and Irish fintech start-up eCurrency Mint
RBI moves to soak up liquidity generated by cash crisis
Deposits of old banknotes have led to surge in liquidity, which is now showing up as pressure on the bond market
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe releases ‘bond notes’ amid public anger
Bond notes to be released in smaller denominations first, central bank explains, to help reassure general public; social media reflects fears over new currency with some retailers already refusing to accept it
Nigerian MPC calls for state to act on stagflation crisis
Committee members warn the central bank on its supervision of banking sector; say monetary policy has a limited effect in face of the current problems
Stiglitz urges central banks to focus on credit, not interest rates
Emphasis on interest rates ignores more important question of whether credit is getting where it is needed, Nobel economist argues
Malawi cuts interest rates on the back of lower inflation
Central bank cuts interest rates by three percentage points to contain inflation, though it also hopes to protect reserves
Central Bank of Brazil establishes data portal
Central bank creates hub for 454 data sets, combining data from government database and other sources; bank has plans to launch data promotion scheme in 2017
MAS charges two investors with orchestrating ‘massive fraud’
The two individuals are accused of largest market manipulation in Singapore’s history, as well as deceiving financial institutions into extending credit
Central Bank of Ireland eases burden on first-time buyers
Abolition of LTV caps means first-time buyers are now able to borrow up to 90% of the whole value of a property, the central bank says, while restrictions placed on banks’ loan book are squeezed tighter
Gulf central banks should act to boost liquidity – IMF report
Improved liquidity assistance frameworks, better forecasting and deeper Islamic liquidity markets would help ease conditions
Turkish central bank hikes as Trump election hits lira
Turkish lira has been targeted in emerging market currency sell-off; rate hike ignores the latest call for more cuts from Turkish president
People: RBA names two new assistant governors; Barbadian deputy governor retires
Luci Ellis and Lindsay Boulton appointed assistant governors at the Reserve Bank of Australia amid reshuffle; Harold Codrington departs Barbadian central bank after 37 years of service; and more